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JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 


Voyage 


BY  GEORGE  PAUL,  GOFF 

ATTTHOR  OF    "  SAN   ANTONIO   AND   ENVIRONS,"    "  TH«  HAUNTED 
ISLAND,"    "NICK   BABA'S    LAST   DRINK,"    ETC. 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAI,. 

1894- 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1893,  by 

GKORGK  P.  GOFP 
in  the  office  of  the  librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


/£. 


IO   MY  SAILOB   BROTHER, 

HARRY  N.  MORSE. 
THIS  BOOK   IS  LOVINGLY  DEDICATED. 


PAGE. 

Chapter  I.— How  I  Came  into  the  World. 7 

Chapter          II.— A  Funeral  14 

Chapter        III.— An  Amateur  Tramp  20 

Chapter        IV. — I  Fall  into  Bad  Company 33 

Chapter  V.— I  Decide  to  be  a  Sailor 43 

Chapter         VI.— Whales  and  other  Things 53 

Chapter       VU.— I  Sign  Articles 62 

Chapter     VIII.—  Off  to  Sea 71 

Chapter         IX.— Boxing  Ihe  Compass   , 80 

Chapter          X.— The  Ship's  Carpenter 92 

Chapter         XI.  -The  Cook's  Monkey 106 

Chapter       XII.— The  Fish  Liar 119 

Chapter     XIII.— A  Storm  at  Sea 130 

Chapter      XIV.— The  Cook's  Monkey  again 138 

Chapter        XV.— Chasing  Whales 149 

Chapter      XVI.— Capturing  Whales 157 

Chapter    XVII.— Cutting  In 166 

Chapter  XVIII.— Mysteries  of  the  Sea 174 

Chapter      XIX.— Whale-boats 182 

Chapter       XX.  -Around  Cape  Horn 189 

Chapter      XXI.— I  am  Promoted 199 

Chapter    XXII.— Off  for  the  Arctic 210 

Chapter  XXIII.— Mermaids 217 

Chapter  XXIV.— "There  She  Blows  " 224 

Chapter     XXV.  -In  the  Ice 230 

Chapter  XXVI.— The  Loss  of  the  Peri 235 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW  I  CAME  INTO  THE  WORLD. 

THE  story  which  I  am  going  to  tell  is  a  part-of 
the  events  of  my  youth,  when  the  cares  and  trials 
of  human  existence  had  settled  down  upon  my  broad 
shoulders,  sending  me  forth  upon  the  journey  of 
life  with  but  few  years  and  no  experience  at  all. 

I  first  saw  the  light  in  the  great  city  of  New 
York  and  came  of  well-born  and  well-bred  parents, 
neither  of  whom  inherited  anything  of  this  world's 
desirable  things  except  energy,  good  manners,  inde- 
pendence of  character  and  industry.  I  had  never 
seen  my  father  except  in  a  photograph,  for  reasons 
which  will  appear  as  this  story  progresses,  but  which 
to  me  were  eminently  satisfactory.  The  love  and 
devotion  of  my  mother  to  my  father,  and  to  his 
memory,  was  one  of  those  beautiful  episodes  that 
belong  to  the  scheme  of  matrimony,  but  alas,  which 
seldom  accompanies  that  theoretically  blissful  con- 
dition of  life.  She  never  tired  of  telling  me  all 
that  concerned  the  author  of  my  being,  how  he 
looked,  how  he  carried  himself,  why  I  had  never 
seen  him,  what  he  said,  and  much  more  that  I  do 
not  think  it  important  to  relate  at  this  time.  In 
this  way  my  love  for  him  grew  and  increased  into 
almost  hero  worship  just  from  hearing  his  virtues 

7 


8  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

spoken  of  day  and  night  from  my  earliest  recol- 
lection. 

It  was  during  the  absence  of  my  father,  who  was 
serving  his  enlistment  in  the  armies  of  the  war  for 
the  Union,  that  I  was  solemnly  ushered  into  this 
breathing  world.  I  had  no  agency  in  bringing 
myself  here,  and  so  became  nolens  volens  a  factor  in 
the  battle  of  human  life — a  scheme  which  seems  to 
me  now  to  be  fuller  of  thorns  than  of  roses. 

My  father  was  a  small  merchant  at  the  time  he 
enlisted,  and  had  a  thriving  business,  which,  could 
he  have  devoted  himself  to  it,  would  have  made  a 
competence  in  time  and  enabled  him  to  have  sup- 
ported his  family  in  ease  and  comfort.  The  family 
comprised  father,  mother,  and  the  humble  individual 
who  is  telling  this  story.  My  father  had  good  rea- 
son to  believe  when  he  departed  for  the  seat  of  war 
that  another  member  would  be  added  to  his  family, 
and  was  apprised  in  due  time  by  letter  that  a  son 
had  been  born  to  him.  That  was  all  he  knew  about 
it,  for  he  was  killed  in  one  of  the  first  battles  of 
that  sanguinary  fratricidal  contest. 

My  real  name  was  not  Quickstep,  but  on  the  con- 
trary quite  a  high  sounding  one,  my  father  being 
descended  from  one  of  the  old  Knickerbocker  fami- 
lies. But  he  was  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of  his  aristo- 
cratic relatives,  and  cut  off  from  family  communion 
in  consequence  of  having  committed  high  treason 
by  marrying  my  mother,  who  possessed  his  heart, 
and  who  was  the  one  being  in  all  the  world  to  me, 
having  patience,  goodness,  virtue,  tact,  education, 


WHALING  VOYAGE. 

sweetness  of  temper  and  high  moral  attributes — 
what  more  could  blue-blood  demand  ? 

I  got  the  name  I  bear  from  my  father  in  a  way 
that  boys  do  not  usually  get  names,  and  it  came 
about  in  this  way.  As  I  said  at  the  commencement 
of  my  story,  my  father,  when  the  old  flag  was 
insulted,  enlisted  to  serve  through  the  war  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union,  leaving  all  his  worldly 
possessions  behind  as  thousands  of  others  did  at  the 
time.  He  was,  as  I  have  before  stated,  unfortu- 
nately for  me  and  for  my  poor  mother,  killed  in  one 
of  the  first  battles  of  that  God-ordained  struggle — 
Well,  as  to  the  name  I  bear. 

When  my  father  departed  with  his  regiment  for 
the  seat  of  war  he  was  only  a  high  private,  but  a 
hero  all  the  same — a  born  soldier.  He  never  lagged. 
He  was  always  ready.  When  the  command,  "  For- 
ward !"  was  given  he  jumped  to  his  duty  with  the 
greatest  alacrity,  going  wherever  his  officers  led, 
and,  for  this  reason,  his  comrades  had  given  him 
the  nickname  of  Quickstep — a  name  that  I  was 
fonder  of  than  I  was  of  the  blue-blooded  one  that 
had  been  flaunted  in  the  face  of  my  paternal  parent, 
for  disobedience  and  disloyalty  to  family. 

He  accepted  the  name  thus  earned  and  seemed  to 
like  it.  But ,  he  was  reported  among  the  slain ,  doing 
duty  in  an  engagement  with  the  enemy,  when  it 
was  whispered  through  the  camp  in  tones  of  sad- 
ness that  Johnnie  Quickstep  had  been  killed. 

My  father  was,  under  the  nickname  given  him 
by  his  fellow-soldiers,  frequently  mentioned  by 


10  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

army  correspondents  for  bravery  and  daring,  so 
that  all  of  his  friends  and  neighbors  at  home  knew 
who  it  was  meant  to  compliment.  He  was  always 
spoken  of  as  Quickstep.  This  annoyed  my  mother 
immeasurably.  She  was  a  sensibly  and  sensitively 
proud  woman,  wrapped  up  in  the  career  of  her 
husband,  and  constantly  endeavoring  to  have  him 
known  by  the  name  he  had  given  her  at  the  altar, 
of  which  she  was  very  fond.  It  was  of  no  use, 
however,  for  the  way  in  which  he  had  acquired  the 
name  gave  it  the  ring  and  fire  of  martial  glory. 

When  I  became  old  enough  to  take  my  place  in 
the  ranks  of  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood,  to  take 
part  in  their  games  and  to  engage  in  the  struggles 
that  all  boys  must  encounter,  in  order  to  gain  first 
or  second  place  and  escape  becoming  a  but,  my 
name  was  Quickstep,  Johnnie  Quickstep,  for  the 
boys  did  not  know  my  real  name.  This  I  resisted 
at  first  with  all  my  might,  principally  on  my 
mother's  account,  and  many  fights  resulted  from 
the  attempt  to  fasten  upon  me  the  name  which  my 
mother  felt  to  be  a  degradation.  She  felt  too 
keenly  that  the  name  was  a  disgrace,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  well-grounded  fear  that  the  name 
given  me  by  the  boys,  half  in  sport,  half  in  ignor- 
ance of  my  real  one,  might  stick  to  me  through 
my  whole  life,  which  it  did  until  my  early  man- 
hood. 

The  more  I  fought  against  it,  however,  the  more 
the  boys  heaped  it  on,  until  I  was  compelled  to 
make  a  show  of  not  caring,  thinking  that,  perhaps, 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  11 

such  a  course  might  put  an  end  to  it;  but  it 
did  not  so  work.  It  had  gone  on  so  long  that  I 
had  partially  forgotten  my  real  name,  and  answered 
to  that  of  Quickstep  without  feeling  any  sting,  or 
even  displeasure.  After  all,  I  argued  with  my 
mother,  there  is  no  taint  attached  to  the  name; 
it  is  signal  of  my  father's  patriotism,  of  his  readiness 
to  sacrifice  everything  by  entering  the  ranks  in 
defence  of  his  country,  and  of  his  bravery  in  every 
battle  in  which  he  had  participated. 

My  mother  merely  sighed,  and  it  ended  in  her 
tacit  acceptance  of  the  name — a  name  that  had  been 
baptized  in  patriot  blood.  I  began  to  like  it  the 
oftener  I  heard  it.  Its  very  sound  quickened  my 
blood.  It  was  inspiriting;  besides,  it  was  emblem- 
atic of  my  father's  devotion  to  the  assailed  flag  of 
our  country. 

I  was  a  public  school  boy,  and  attended  that 
greatest  institution  of  our  beloved  land  nntil  I  was 
twelve  years  of  age.  I  was  moderately  quick  to 
conquer  the  rudiments,  but  was  obliged  to  leave 
school  and  go  to  work  in  order  that  I  might  assist 
my  mother  with  what  little  I  was  able  to  earn.  On 
enlisting  for  the  war  my  father  had  abandoned  his 
business,  as  did  thousands  and  thousands  of  other 
patriots  when  the  alarm  was  sounded  that  the  Con- 
stitution was  in  danger,  and,  of  course,  my  mother 
was  left  to  struggle  through  my  babyhood,  and  my 
early  boyhood,  which  she  did  with  the  courage  and 
devotion  of  a  Roman  matron,  with  a  bare  sufficiency 
for  our  absolute  wants,  she  often  denying  herself 


12  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

necessary  things  that  I  might  make  a  creditable 
appearance  among  my  playmates. 

My  mother  was  a  great  and  rapid  reader.  She 
read  every  book  that  she  could  lay  her  hands  upon. 
As  soon  as  I  was  old  enough  to  comprehend,  she 
placed  useful  and  instructive  books  in  my  hands; 
encouraged  me  to  read,  herself  leading  the  way, 
impressing  always  upon  my  mind  the  value  and 
power  of  knowledge,  thus  developing  whatever  of 
latent  power  and  appetite  I  may  have  had  for  study. 

Under  her  guidance  and  instruction  I  had  read, 
before  I  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  the  works  of 
Cooper,  Maryatt,  Dickens,  Bulwer,  Ainsworth,  the 
Spectator,  Rambler,  Tattler,  and  many  more 
authors  that  I  cannot  now  recall.  I  had  read,  also, 
Moore,  Bryant,  "  Paradise  Lost/*  the  English  Poets, 
"Robinson  Crusoe," '  'Gulliver's  Travel's, ""Arabian 
Nights,"  "  Pilgrims  Progress,"  "  Fox's  Book  of 
Martyrs,"  and  had  a  fair  acquaintance  with  Shaks- 
peare.  1  had  not  mastered  all  these,  but  had 
browsed,  as  it  were,  on  this  vast  field  of  literature, 
absorbing  some  of  the  choicest  bits  from  each,  pick- 
ing up  information  here  and  there,  and  everywhere, 
thus  sowing  the  seeds  of  ardent  desire  in  the  direc- 
tion of  extensive  reading. 

All  this  gave  me  an  increased  appetite  for  explor- 
ing the  sources  of  knowledge,  which  I  improved  as 
I  advanced  to  manhood.  It  was  all  stowed  away 
in  the  lockers  of  memory,  without  order  or  plan, 
so  far  as  I  was  then  aware,  when,  all  at  once,  I 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  13 

found  myself  in  possession  of  a  great  fund  of  informa- 
tion, which  grew  systematically  afterwards. 

My  mother,  at  last,  worn  out  in  a  constant  strug- 
gle for  existence,  became  enfeebled  in  health,  and, 
after  lingering  along  for  a  few  years,  died,  with 
blessings  on  her  lips  for  her  orphan  boy.  She 
mourned  with  her  latest  breath  that  I  should  be  cast 
out  upon  the  cold  world  to  battle  alone  with  life; 
with  none  to  encourage,  to  advise,  or  to  guide  me 
over  the  shoals  of  human  endeavor. 

I  had  inherited  good  principles  from  both  parents, 
and  these  had  been  fostered,  sustained  and  strength- 
ened by  the  strong  mind  and  admirable  training  of 
a  loving  mother.  And  so  I  started  on  my  lone 
career  with  a  strong  conviction  of  the  power  of 
right,  and  the  weakness  of  wrong  doing.  Besides, 
for  a  boy  who  had  not  had  the  advantages  of  thorough 
systematic  schooling,  I  was  quite  learned — so  I 
thought  at  the  time.  But  I  have  lived  long  enough 
now  to  know  that  the  sum  of  human  intelligence 
is  but  to  realize  that  the  more  one  knows ,  the  more 
one  becomes  aware  of  how  little  one  really  does 
know,  and  it  is  a  long  time  after  a  boy  discards  his 
round-jacket  that  this  comes  to  him  in  its  full  force. 


' 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  FUNERAL. 

THE  night  that  my  mother  died  I  did  not  think 
that  the  record  of  all  human  woe  could  foot  up  any- 
thing to  equal  what  I  experienced  as  I  saw  her  eyes 
closed  in  death— I  still  think  so.  It  was  midnight 
in  the  dead  of  winter  when  she  passed  away.  Just 
at  the  time  she  breathed  her  last  there  came  a  light 
fall  of  snow,  the  starry  flakes  descended  as  noise- 
lessly as  spirits,  settling  gently  as  eiderdown,  as 
though  each  one  feared  to  crush  the  other,  whiten- 
ing the  earth,  like  a  mysterious,  silent  messenger 
from  that  celestial  home  to  which  my  angel  mother 
had  been  called.  The  world  was  mantled  in  a  film 
of  the  beautiful  snow,  so  white,  so  pure,  that  it 
seemed  to  my  boyish  wrought-up  feelings  to  have 
been  sent  to  shroud  the  universe  in  light  as  an 
emblem  of  the  lovely  character  of  the  mother  I  had 
lost. 

When  she  died  we  were  very  poor;  some  kind- 
hearted  neighbors  came  in  and  took  possession  of 
our  rooms,  dressed  the  remains  of  my  poor  mother 
for  the  last  sad  rites,  and  the  funeral  took  place, 
It  was  but  a  poor  funeral :  it  lacked  the  parade 
and  show  of  many  such  processions  I  had  witnessed 
upon  the  streets  ;  it  lacked  the  pomp  of  caparisoned 

14 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  15 

horses  with  black  plumes  nodding  to  the  motion  of 
their  heads  ;  it  lacked  the  pompous  hearse  with  its 
blazonry  of  silver  trimmings,  and  hangings  of  costly 
black  velvet,  but  it  was  a  real  funeral,  and  meant 
more  to  me  than  if  it  had  been  consummated  with 
all  the  pageantry  of  funeral  folly — it  meant  desola- 
tion to  me. 

It  left  me  homeless ;  at  sea  without  a  compass  : 
alone  in  a  world  I  did  not  know.  When  the  hard 
cold  clods  of  earth  sounded  upon  the  coffin  my  heart 
seemed  stricken  with  a  sort  of  paralysis  :  it  seemed 
that  all  which  the  whole  world  had  contained  for 
me  had  suddenly  vanished;  all  else  seemed  value- 
less. 

When  this  saddest  event  was  over  I  returned  to 
the  scanty  apartments  we  had  occupied  together, 
broken  hearted  and  desolate.  One  of  my  mother's 
friends,  Miss  Searson,  a  gentle,  kind-hearted,  sym- 
pathetic little  body,  came  in  to  condole  with  me. 
This  friend  was  a  maiden  lady,  and  was  neither 
rich  nor  poor.  She  had  a  small  income,  sufficient 
for  her  frugal  wants  and  something  more,  willed 
by  a  deceased  father  who  had  been  dead  for  many 
years,  leaving  her  without  a  relative  in  the  world, 
so  far  as  she  knew. 

She  was  about  sixty  years  of  age,  though  still 
retaining  a  girlish  form,  and  one  of  the  sweetest, 
gentlest  of  her  sex.  She  was  of  medium  height, 
of  a  graceful  embonpoint,  blue  eyes  which  gave 
her  face  a  benign  expression,  and  gray  hair,  almost 
white,  wrhich  she  wore  in  the  most  graceful  cork- 


JO  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

screw  ringlets.  To  these  she  persistently  clung 
because  they  were  the  mode  when  she  was  a  girl. 
''ressed  plainly,  but  always  in  the  most  exquis- 
ite U 

The  gossips  said  that  she  had  been  crossed  in  love 
in  early  life.  I  knew  nothing  about  this,  but  if  it 
were  true  it  had  left  no  harsh  traces  in  her 
aged  face.  I  know  that  she  was  good  to  me,  and 
when  she  entered  my  desolate  home  the  sunshine 
came  with  her.  With  the  sweetest  accent,  which 
was  balrri  to  my  wounded  spirit,  she  said  : 

"  Johnnie,  what  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  and  she 
sat  down  beside  rne  in  that  confiding,  inspiring 
way  only  to  be  done  by  a  gentle  woman.  "God 
knows,  Miss  Searson,  what  can  I  do?"  and  I 
awaited  her  reply. 

"  Well,  you  cannot  remain  here/'  she  answered, 
in  an  assuring  way,  "  We  will  just  see  what  there 
is  here  to  be  disposed  of,  and  what  it  will  bring  if 
sold.  You  can  make  your  home  with  me  until  you 
can  look  about  and  get  something  to  do." 

With  tears  in  rny  eyes,  and  sobs  in  my  throat  I 
moaned  : 

"  Oh,  Miss  Searson,  you  are  so  kind,  so  good.  1 
arn  so  heart-broken,  so  desolate.  I  will  act  as  you 
tli ink  best  J  should  do." 

She  made  no  reply,  but  turned  her  head  away, 
and,  as  I  observed,  took  her  handkerchief  from 
under  her  blouse  and  blew  her  nose  as  though  she 
had  a  bad  cold — 1  always  folieved  that  she  used 
the  handkerchief  to  dry  her  tears  on  that  occasion. 


WHALJKG   VOYAGE.  17 

Upon  making  an  inventory  of  what  might  be 
turned  into  money  we  happened  upon  a  small  c 
looking  package  done  up  in  straw  matting.  It  had 
ntly  been  hidden  away,  as  we  found  it  in  an 
obscure  corner  of  an  unused  clo-  *.  L'nder  the 
straw  matting  was  a  piece  of  old,  worn-out  carpet, 
and  under  this  a  piece  of  black  cotton  cloth,  the 
whole  bound  with  a  strong  cord. 

When  these  wrappings  were  all  rernov 
remained  a  small  odd-looking  earthen  jar  having  a 
convenient  slit  for  the  admission  of  money.      We 
broke  it  open  and  found  that  it  contained  enough 
to  defray  the  ex]  the  modest  funeral. 

The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  t 

Searson  g  her  to  keep  it  in  part  pay- 

ment for  my  board  and  lodging,  which  she  finally 
.nted  to  do. 

rnained  with  this  generous  friend  for  a 
hs  and  then  departed,  as  will  be  be- 
after.     So,  many  times  in  after  years,  when  I  ha/1 
become  a  rover  of  the  sea»,  wave-tossed  and  sick  at 
heart,   I  hav  t   of   this  good  woman,  and 

always  connected  her  with  my  dead  mother.     I 
I  into  rny  cheerless  bunk  in  the  foul- 
smel-  ,ke-clouded  forecastle,  nor  turned  out 

of  it,  that  the  remembrance  and  |  of  both 

did  not  seem  to  li^  and  guide  me,  to  a  use- 

ful manhood. 

I  was  always  fond  of  reading  .stories  of  the  sea^ 
and  of  ships  and  sailors.  The  subject  had  a  charm 
for  me— a  fascination  I  could  not  resist.  Often  and 


18  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

t)ften  when  I  had  a  holiday,  and  that  was  not  a 
frequent  event  in  my  life,  I  would  go  to  the  docks 
and  gaze  in  rapt  admiration,  not  unmixed  with 
awe,  at  the  tall  masts  and  intricate  rigging,  sway- 
ing to  the  sluggish  undulations  of  the  stagnant  tide 
in  the  docks,  against  a  background  of  dingy  brick 
warehouses,  the  glory  of  whose  brilliant  red  had 
faded  out  years  ago  to  the  arbitrary  demands  of 
time. 

I  used  to  look  upon  the  sailors,  in  their  outlandish 
dress  and  rolling  gait,  and  wonder  if  they  were 
like  other  men  and  lived  in  houses,  and  had  moth- 
ers and  sisters,  and  wives  and  children.  And  when 
they  struck  up  their  peculiar  singing,  which  seemed 
to  make  everything  move,  tugging  at  ropes,  or 
stowing  away  merchandise ,  which  came  to  the  ship 
on  giant  trucks,  into  the  mysterious  depths  of  the 
hold  under  the  hatches,  I  felt  certain  that  they 
must  have  come  from  Neptune's  domain  to  do  this 
special  work,  work  which  could  not  be  done  by 
people  who  had  been  born  on  shore  and  who  live 
under  a  roof,  and  eat  with  knives  and  forks.  This 
all  grew  upon  me,  and  gradually  the  idea  came  to 
me  that  I  wanted  to  be  a  sailor  and  go  to  far  dis- 
tant lands,  where  giants,  and  cannibals,  and  naked 
savages,  and  other  strange  things  exist,  and  of 
which  I  had  read  so  much. 

The  determination  was  gradually  taking  posses- 
sion of  me  that  I  must  be  a  sailor;  that  I  must 
become  the  captain  of  a  ship,  and  pace  up  and  down 
the  quarter-deck  as  I  had  seen  them  do  while  I  had 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  19 

been  idling  about  the  docks,  half  determining  upon, 
half  shrinking  from,  a  life  which  seemed  so  closely 
connected  with  the  silent  depths  of  the  great 
oceans. 

I  conjured  up  pictures  of  Robinson  Crusoe  sur- 
rounded with  his  goats ;  climbing  up  into  his  habi- 
tation when  he  wanted  to  go  to  bed,  and  drawing 
his  ladder  up  after  him  in  order  to  escape  having 
his  bones  picked  by  savages.  My  memory  repro- 
duced those  footprints  in  the  sand,  that  cannibal 
feast,  and  the  man  Friday,  bowing  his  face  to  the 
sand  in  adoration  for,  and  devotion  to,  the  strange 
being  with  a  white  skin  who  had  rescued  him  from 
the  cannibals.  My  dreams  were  all  of  ships  and 
sailors.  I  saw  sailors  at  the  docks,  on  the  ocean, 
aloft,  spreading  the  white  wings  of  commerce  over 
deeply  laden  hulls— hulls  stored  full  of  the  products 
of  my  own  country,  and  pushing  their  speeding 
prows  out  into,  and  through  distant  seas,  into  for- 
eign lands,  to  return  burdened  with  the  commodi- 
ties of  those  countries.  I  felt  that  I  was  born  to 
be  a  sailor,  and  I  became  one. 


CHAPTER    III. 

AN  AMATEUR  TRAMP. 

A  FEW  days  after  I  had  become  an  inmate  of  Miss 
Searson's  home  I  started  out  to  look  for  work. 
The  situation  I  had  filled  before  my  mother's  death 
was  no  longer  open  to  me,  for  the  reason  that  busi- 
ness had  become  very  slack,  when  I  was  discharged, 
not  from  any  delinquency  on  my  part,  but  because 
I  was  the  last  boy  who  had  been  taken  on,  and  that 
to  me  seemed  perfectly  just  and  fair. 

At  last  I  found  an  opportunity  to  go  to  a  small 
town  in  a  neighboring  state,  about  a  hundred  miles 
from  New  York,  and  apprentice  myself  to  a  manu- 
facturer of  hats.  I  had  always  felt  a  great  interest 
in  hat-making,  and  used  to  stand  in  front  of  a  hat 
factory,  on  my  way  to  and  from  the  public  school 
which  I  attended,  and  watch  the  men  as  they 
worked  around  the  steaming  kettle  of  hot  water. 
I  used  to  watch  them  taking  unmeaning  bunches 
of  wool,  and  cotton,  and  some  sort  of  fur,  and 
gradually  form  these  materials  into  the  semblance 
of  a  hat. 

In  those  days  apprentice  boys  were  not  consid- 
ered much  above  the  condition  of  the  house-dog,  and 
all  sorts  of  indignities  were  put  upon  them.  This 
was  the  discipline  of  my  new  place;  drudgery,  not 

20 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  21 

hatmaking,  was  the  rule  for  the  first  year,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  submit  to  it  or  take  French  leave.  All 
this  did  not  suit  my  impatient  disposition.  It  was 
too  much  like  slavery,  and  for  merely  board  and 
clothes — the  clothing  consisting  of  the  cast-off  gar- 
ments, and  the  board  whatever  might  be  left  from 
the  master's  table.  It  was  too  slow,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  degradation  of  the  position.  I  was  anxious 
to  do  something,  to  go  somewhere,  and  so  the  old 
romance  of  the  sea  was  constantly  pushing  other 
things  aside.  A  perpetual  longing  to  be  on  ship- 
board took  possession  of  my  whole  being,  and,  while 
I  had  not  yet  resolved  to  follow  that  mode  of  life , 
the  haunting  determination  was  forming  all  the 
same  with  adamantine  firmness. 

There  was  one  thing:  I  was  going  to  be  a  man — 
to  make  a  man  of  myself,  and  there  was  nothing 
in  the  surroundings  of  the  hat-shop  that  could  ever 
lead  to  that.  I  felt  a  modest  confidence  in  being 
able  to  take  care  of  myself — indeed,  I  know  now, 
that  I  had,  what  the  most  of  boys  are  gifted  with, 
an  inordinate  amount  of  confidence,  considering 
my  pecuniary  helplessness. 

My  wages,  as  I  said  before,  was  my  board  and 
clothes,  when  I  could  get  any,  with  an  occasional 
small  amount  of  money,  which,  however,  I  earned 
outside  of  my  regular  duty.  One  morning  my 
employer  observed  me  idling  about  and  wanted  to 
know  why  I  was  not  at  my  work,  applying  an 
offensive  name  to  me. 


22  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

<c  I  am  not  going  to  work  for  you  any  longer,"  I 
replied. 

"  Not  going  to  work  any  more,"  he  repeated, 
1 '  then,  pray,  what  are  you  going  to  do — steal  ?"  and 
he  looked  commiseratingly  upon  me,  as  though  he 
thought  I  could  not  get  away  from  him.  My  face 
became  scarlet  in  a  moment,  and  angry  words  were 
coming  to  my  lips.  I  braced  up,  however,  and 
remained  as  cool  as  I  was  able. 

' '  I  did  not  say  I  wo  s  not  going  to  work  any  more , 
but  that  I  was  not  going  to  work  for  you  Any  longer. " 

This  displeased  him  very  much,  and  he  said  that 
I  should  not  go.  I  declared  that  I  would  go,  and 
asked  him  to  pay  me  money  enough  to  enable  me 
to  return  to  New  York.  He  became  more  violent, 
saying : 

* '  I  will  never  pay  you  a  penny.  You  shall  stay 
here,  and  I  will  find  means  to  keep  you  at  your 
work,"  and  he  ordered  me  to  get  at  it  immediately. 

I  was  now  eighteen  years  old,  well  grown,  stout, 
and  strong  as  a  horse — almost  the  stature  of  a  man — 
and  I  felt  a  momentary  desire  to  try  my  strength 
with  him;  my  fingers  tingled  with  the  blood  of 
anger.  I  calmed  myself,  though  defying  him  by 
my  manner  and  attitude,  when  he  taunted  me  with 
the  fact  that  I  had  neither  friends  nor  money,  and 
that  I  was  homeless. 

My  mind  was  formed  in  a  moment  what  I  should 
do.  I  went  to  bed  that  night  as  usual,  but,  about 
midnight,  when  all  was  quiet  in  the  house,  I  got 
up,  dressed  myself,  took  my  bundle,  containing  all 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  23 

I  had  in  the  world,  over  my  shoulder.  With  my 
worn-out  shoes  in  my  hand,  I  had  no  stockings,  in 
my  bare  feet  I  found  my  way  down  the  stairs  and 
out  into  the  dark  village  streets  and  started  on  my 
way  to  New  York.  Before  daylight  I  was  miles 
away. 

My  soul  was  stirred  with  conflicting  emotions. 
I  felt  bitterly  revengeful  against  my  employer,  as  I 
left  his  drudgery,  and  burdened  with  sorrow  as 
though  I  had  been  bruised  by  the  sharp  angles  of 
the  world  for  fifty  years,  in  place  of  having  lived 
but  eighteen  out  of  that  number.  This  feeling, 
while  not  a  good  one  to  have  in  one's  heart,  made 
me  feel  stronger,  more  self-reliant;  and  I  think 
from  that  moment  I  became  a  man  in  spirit,  though 
but  a  boy  in  years. 

When  I  started  on  my  tramp  toward  all  the  home 
I  had,  I  was  entirely  without  money,  and  I  felt  sick 
at  heart  to  find  myself  a  pauper,  as  it  were.  I 
wondered  how  I  was  going  to  reach  that  distant 
place,  or  even  to  live  until  I  reached  there.  It  was 
not  at  all  plain  how  it  was  to  be  accomplished. 
However,  for  want  of  thought  I  concluded  it  must 
be  a  matter  of  chance ,  and  if  I  could  not  get  work 
to  do  I  could  starve. 

The  remembrance  of  my  mother,  and  the  good 
principles  into  which  I  had  been  educated  by  her, 
would  not  permit  me  to  do  aught  that  was  not 
strictly  proper  and  right.  I  could  work  my  way 
along,  if  I  could  get  it  to  do,  and  this  I  resolved 
should  be  my  dependence.  At  all  events  I  must 


24  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

get  to  New  York  and  solicit  the  advice  of  my  best 
and  only  friend,  Miss  Searson,  and  get  her  views  as 
to  what  I  should  next  do. 

It  was  important,  nay,  imperative,  that  I  should 
reach  my  native  city;  and  the  only  means  I  was 
able  to  devise  to  get  there  without  starving  on  the 
road,  was  to  work  for  any  one  who  would  employ 
me ,  even  though  I  only  got  my  food  for  my  services. 
My  wardrobe  was  not  the  most  stylish,  and,  I  am 
bound  to  confess,  that  my  appearance  was  anything 
but  creditable. 

However,  I  was  compelled  to  eat,  and  a  sort  of 
bravado  took  possession  of  me — a  sort  of  sublime 
impudence,  which  I  intended  to  cast  off  as  soon  as 
my  plans  for  getting  home  were  worked  out.  I 
felt  it  to  be  no  disgrace  to  work  for  a  meal  if  I  were 
hungry,  and  so  plod  along  until  I  ended  my  journey. 
With  this  in  view  I  arrived  in  front  of  a  rather 
stylish  farm  house.  It  was  just  such  a  house  as  a 
well-to-do  farmer,  advanced  in  years,  and  with 
abundant  fortune,  would  build. 

Around  the  house,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
were  smiling  acres,  and  the  grounds  immediately 
about  the  dwelling  were  such  as  are  usual  in  the 
country,  not  laid  out  with  mathematical  precision, 
nor  with  architectural  beauty,  as  a  millionare  would 
have  done,  yet  with  excellent  homely  taste.  The 
yard  was  filled  with  walks  and  flowers,  and  to  the 
window  lattice  clung  clusters  of  glowing  roses.  I 
thought  certainly  I  would  not  be  denied  a  meal  here. 
I  opened  the  gate,  and,  impelled  by  that  cold  deter- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  25 

mination,  which  is  often  mistaken  for  impudence,  I 
entered  the  precinct  of  that  seeming  domestic  para- 
dise. I  had  no  doubt  of  being  able  to  get  a  meal 
for  what  work  I  was  willing  to  do,  as  the  quantity 
I  might  be  required  to  perform  cut  no  figure  in  my 
calculations  in  that  direction. 

As  soon  as  I  was  fairly  inside  and  the  gate  had 
closed  upon  me,  a  large  and  powerful  dog,  which  I 
had  not  before  observed  nor  had  any  idea  from 
whence  it  came,  sprang  ferociously  towards  me.  I 
have  never  been  afraid  of  dogs.  They  have  under- 
stood me  at  once,  and  there  has  been  no  cause  of 
difference  between  us.  I  suppose  that  in  this  instance 
my  general  vagabond  appearance  had  much  to  do 
with  the  prompt  onslaught  of  the  animal.  I  am 
confident  that  no  dog,  except  perhaps  the  blood- 
hound, will  attack  a  man  if  the  man  does  not  betray 
fear. 

As  the  beast  sprang  at  me  I  stopped,  looked  firmly 
into  his  eyes,  spoke  a  few  kind  words  to  him,  and 
went  on  my  way  up  the  yard  to  a  side  door,  the  dog 
following  after  me  as  though  it  were  a  pet,  and  I, 
the  intruder ,  its  friend  and  master.  The  dog  was  per- 
fectly subdued,  and  I  in  possession  of  the  premises. 

Having  rapped,  I  waited  for  some  one  to  appear. 
The  door  was  opened  by  a  negro  servant  woman, 
who,  with  the  door  ajar,  looked  at  me  in  a  half- 
frightened  way.  When  she  had  taken  my  appear- 
ance all  in,  an  idea  seemed  to  have  taken  possession 
of  her  brain,  for  she  turned  almost  white — a  sort  of 
ashy  paleness  overspread  her  scared  black  face;  her 


26  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

eyes  protruded,  and  her  tongue  for  the  moment  was 
incapable  of  articulation. 

When  she  saw,  as  she  naturally  supposed,  a 
dreaded  tramp  standing  inside  the  enclosure,  even 
at  the  very  door,  her  face  turned  a  few  shades 
ashier,  and  when  she  saw  the  dog  so  subdued,  as 
though  the  hitherto  faithful  guardian  and  the 
tramp  were  old  friends  and  understood  each  other, 
she  became  yet  more  ashy  in  hue. 

After  her  bewildering  astonishment  had  subsided 
a  little,  and  the  partial  paralysis  of  her  tongue  had 
passed  off,  she  rather  thought  aloud  than  addressed 
herself  to  the  person  who  had  upset  and  defied  the 
propriety  of  the  premises — 

' '  Fo'  de  Lord  its  a  mirkle  dat  dis  yere  dog  didn't 
tar  ye  in  pieces.  It's  de  fust  time  dat  er  tramp 
d-a-r-d  come  inside  dis  yer  fence." 

"  I  do  not  fear  dogs,  Aunty;  I  only  had  to  conjure 
him,  and  you  see  how  friendly  he  is.  Where  is 
your  master  ? " 

"He — he — inside  de  house,"  she  tremblingly 
answered,  as  though  she  feared  being  conjured  as  she 
thought  the  dog  had  been,  "  but  he  not  gwan'ter 
see  ye,  kase  he  doan  like  tramps  an  pussons  what 
won't  work.  You's  lucky  ef  he  doan  have  ye 
flogged,"  and  she  waited  for  me  to  go. 

"  Well,  never  mind  what  you  think,  just  tell  him 
that  some  one  wants  to  speak  to  him." 

The  servant  rolled  her  eyes  up  until  only  the 
whites  were  visible ,  and  then  gave  a  little  feminine 
scream,  meanwhile  looking  intently  at  me  as  if 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  27 

uncertain  whether  it  would  not  be  best  for  her  to 
run.  Nevertheless,  she  started  in  search  of  the 
farmer,  looking  back  over  her  shoulder  as  though 
she  feared  conjuration  might  overtake  her. 

Mr.  Holden,  for  that  was  the  farmer's  name, 
being  informed  that  a  tramp  was  inside  the  fence, 
and  not  that  some  one  was  waiting  to  see  him,  made 
his  appearance ,  and  asked  in  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment: 

"  Where  is  the  dog— Tiger  ?  " 

The  servant  looked  at  me,  then  at  the  farmer, 
and  jerked  out: 

"  Dat  tramp  done  kunjer  de  dog." 

The  farmer  looked  savage  and  hastened  to  meet 
me.  His  first  salutation  was — 

"Get  out  of  here,  you  vagabond!  I'll  set  the 
dog  on  you  and  have  you  torn  to  pieces.  At  him, 
Tiger!  Sieze  him,  boy  &  but  the  dog  could  not  be 
induced  to  move.  He  wagged  his  tail,  thus  acquies- 
cing in  my  presence. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  the  brute  ?"  asked  the 
farmer,  "  that  he  does  not  do  his  duty  ?" 

The  woman  turned  towards  the  irate  farmer,  her 
turban  taking  pantomimic  action,  saying,  with 
some  show  of  impatience : 

"Disyer  man  done  kunjer  de  dog,  I  tole  ye.'1 

It  was  difficult  to  decide  whether  Mr.  Holden  was 
more  angry  with  the  dog  or  with  me.  However, 
his  temper  returned  to  him,  spiced  a  little  higher, 
and  he  commenced  again  : 

* '  You  miserable  tramp ,  if  you  don't  leave  my 


28  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

premises  instantly,  I'll  shoot  you  dead  where  you 
stand." 

I  had  been  a  patient  listener  so  far,  but  thought 
it  time  now  to  get  at  some  sort  of  an  explanation , 
so  I  replied: 

"  And  regret  it  as  long  as  you  live.  You  have 
made  a  mistake  in  some  way.  I  fear  you  take  me 
for  one  of  those  wandering  marauders  known  as 
tramps.  It  is  not  so,  and  your  dog,  with  better 
judgment  than  you  have  shown,  discovered  the 
error  which  my  appearance  produced.  You  observe 
how  friendly  he  is  ?" 

Tiger,  as  if  to  confirm  my  speech,  came  over  to 
where  I  was  standing  and  showed  his  good  feeling 
by  wagging  his  tail  and  rubbing  his  nose  against 
my  extended  hand. 

"  Confound  your  cheek,"  exploded  the  farmer, 
with  amazement  in  his  fcce ,  ' '  who  are  you ,  and 
what  do  you  want  ?  How  dare  you  venture  inside 
this  fence?" 

"  Because  I  want  to  have  some  talk  with  you.  I 
am  a  poor  boy,  and  want  a  breakfast,"  hoping  that 
my  manner  might  appease  him. 

"Ah,  that's  it.  Then  you  are  a  sneaking  beggar, 
ready  to  carry  off  anything  that  may  take  your 
fancy — if  it  is  portable.  You  are  not  a  tramp 
then.  I  fail  to  see  the  difference.  "  I  suppose 
that  after  you  are  gone  we  shall  miss  all  the  small 
articles  that  may  happen  to  be  within  your  reach  ? " 

' '  You  are  wrong.  I  will  work  for  what  I  get. 
As  to  what  you  may  miss  after  I  am  gone,  let  me 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  29 

say  that  you  will  have  missed  nothing  but  the 
opportunity  to  have  been  a  gentleman,  and  of 
helping  an  honest  boy  on  his  way.  As  I  explained 
to  you  I  only  want  a  breakfast,  and  I  am  willing 
to  work  for  it." 

The  farmer  glanced  at  me,  but  the  look  was  tem- 
pered with  the  old  determination  to  put  no  confi- 
dence in  me.  He  seemed  bent,  in  his  ill-humor, 
upon  adhering  to  the  opinion  that  I  was  a  vaga- 
bond. He  answered  with  a  sneer. 

"  Well,  you  can  have  a  meal,  and  can  go  into  the 
kitchen  and  eat  with  the  nigger.  I  will  give  you 
as  much  as  you  can  eat,  and  then  have  you  chased 
out  of  the  county." 

"  Not  so  fast,  my  friend,"  I  replied  to  this,  quel- 
ling my  indignation,  "  we  will  make  an  exchange. 
I  will  do  any  amount  of  work  for  you  in  payment 
for  my  breakfast. " 

"  Then,  may  I  ask,"  said  the  farmer,  his  temper 
glowing  forth  again  like  a  volcano.  ' '  If  you  in- 
tend to  have  what  you  want,  and  work  for  me  too, 
whether  I  will  or  not,"  looking  me  over  again 
angrily. 

"  Why,  no;  there  is  no  occasion  for  that,  since 
you  have  already  decided  that  I  shall  do  both," 
mustering  up  courage  as  I  hoped  that  the  ther- 
mometer of  his  temper  was  cooling  off. 

"  Indeed,  have  I,"  he  angrily  demanded,  "per- 
haps after  you  have  eaten  all  you  want  you  will 
kindly  consent  to  take  possession  of  my  farm — be- 
come owner  of  it,"  fire  flashing  from  his  eyes. 


30  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

' '  By  no  means/*  I  answered,  with,  I  am  ashamed 
to  say,  a  provoking  smile,  prompted  by  such  an 
absurd  idea,  "but  you  see  from  my  pertinacity 
that  I  am  very  hungry,  and,  indeed,  starving. 
Now,  the  only  difference  between  us  is,  whether 
you  will  let  me  earn  the  meal  I  am  to  get.  I  can- 
not eat  what  I  do  not  work  for,  and  that  should 
convince  you  that  I  am  all  right.  If,  after  I  have 
finished  my  work  you  are  not  satisfied  with  the 
amount  done,  I  will  do  more."  Mr.  Holden  looked 
at  me  again,  his  brow  knotted  with  anger. 

' '  I  see  no  other  way  of  getting  rid  of  you  and 
your  dogged  impudence;  so  get  what  you  want — 
do  as  you  please,  and  then  leave  here  as  soon  as  you 
can — confound  you,"  and  he  left  me  to  the  mercy 
of  the  colored  woman. 

I  finished  my  breakfast,  but  not  "with  the 
nigger  "as  was  suggested  by  the  farmer,  for  she 
kept  clear  of  me  for  fear  that  I  might  put  some 
spell  upon  her. 

"  You  jis*  wait  fo'  a  minit  till  I  put  yo  breakfus 
on  de  table, "  which,  being  done,  she  made  her 
escape,  leaving  me  to  help  myself.  I  enjoyed  the 
meal  as  only  a  hungry  man  could,  but  mixed  with 
it  were  some  bitter  reflections,  considering  the 
gaunt lett  I  had  run  to  get  it,  and  the  bravado  I 
had  been  compelled  to  exhibit  in  order  not  to 
starve. 

I  had  finished  my  work  and  all  was  satisfactory 
so  far  as  I  knew,  for  I  never  saw  Mr.  Holden  again. 
I  was  ready  to  go,  but  I  had  another  ordeal  to  pass 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  31 

through.  I  had  not  yet  gone  to  the  depths  of 
humiliation.  Just  as  I  was  going  to  the  gate  to  re- 
sume my  tramp,  a  young  lady  appeared  upon  the 
scene,  standing  in  the  doorway.  She  demanded, 
not  in  honeyed  words,  to  be  sure,  but  not  with  the 
undisguised  ill-temper  of  the  farmer. 

' '  How  dared  you  enter  private  grounds  and  take 
such  liberties  as  you  have  taken  ? " 

"I  presume,"  I  answered,  with  all  the  courage 
and  politeness  I  could  muster,  at  the  same  time 
wishing  that  the  earth  would  open  and  swallow  me. 
"  I  presume  that  you  are  the  daughter  of  this 
house  ? " 

"Answer  my  question,"  she  said,  in  a  gentler 
tone  of  voice,  "  why  did  you  enter  here  ?" 

"I  have  already  explained  to  your  father,  and 
he  understands  it."  I  faltered,  completely  abashed, 
my  assumed  bravado  crushing  me.  She  only 
looked  at  me  the  more  intently,  and  I  would  rather 
have  faced  a  dozen  men  like  the  farmer  than  rest 
under  that  stare  she  gave  me  for  one  moment. 

"  You  wonder,  and  justly  so,  at  the  sublime  im- 
pudence of  my  attitude  here.  For  that,  my  only 
excuse  is,  that  I  am  not  what  I  seem.  As  to  the 
intrusion,  I  could  no  more  resist  coming  in  here  to 
ask  for  relief,  than  I  can  cease  to  breathe  without 
doing  violence  to  myself.  I  would  not  insult 
anyone,  certainly  not  a  lady.  If  I  have  done  so, 
and  I  think  I  have,  I  humbly  beg  pardon.  It  is 
my  nature  to  be  just  what  I  am,  not  what  you  take 


32  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

me  to  be,  what  you  deem  the  most  brazen  im- 
pudence, seemed  to  me  to  be  only  perseverance." 

"  It  may  be  as  you  say,"  she  answered,  a  great 
deal  mollified,  "  but  it  looks  to  me  to  be  a  mild  sort 
of  ruffianism.3' 

"  I  did  not  so  intend  it,"  I  made  answer,  my  face 
burning  like  a  furnace. 

"But  who  are  you?"  she  pursued,  with  more 
interest,  and  in  sweetly  growing  accents,  "have 
you  a  name,  a  home,  a  country  ? " 

"At  present,"  I  responded,  raising  my  tattered 
hat,  "  I  have  neither.  Even  if  you  felt  inclined  to 
listen,  I  could  tell  you  no  more  than  that  I  am  not 
a  tramp." 

So  saying,  I  left  the  field  to  her,  looking  back, 
however,  as  I  closed  the  gate  behind  me,  to  find 
her  eyes  following  me.  Walking  away,  I  felt  the 
rebuke  administered  by  the  young  lady  to  be  more 
of  a  punishment  than  if  her  father  had  thrashed 
me — as  I  deserved. 

I  had  been  irrepressible,  had  gained  my  point 
with  the  farmer,  but  it  was  a  barren  victory,  and 
had  the  sting  of  self-disgust  in  it.  I  was  yet  a 
long  distance  from  home,  and,  as  I  tramped  along, 
I  wondered  what  more  I  had  to  encounter  on  my 
road. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

I  FALL   INTO   BAD  COMPANY. 

I  WAS  never  afraid  of  work  or  considered  it  de- 
grading. On  the  contrary,  I  look  upon  labor  as 
honorable,  ennobling  and  of  diciplinary  value. 
My  experience  at  the  farm  house  had  left  a  sting  in 
ray  bosom,  for  there  I  had  assumed  to  be  a  bully, 
and,  indeed,  had  outbullied  the  farmer.  It  was 
not  in  my  estimation  a  conquest,  but  a  defeat,  and 
it  had  further  steeled  my  heart  and  aroused  my  re- 
sis  tence. 

I  was  beginning  to  understand  that,  no  matter 
what  happened  to  me,  I  must  be  a  man  and  take  a 
man's  part  in  the  world — I  was  no  longer  a  boy.  I 
I  was  something  of  an  athelete  and  could  take  care 
of  myself  on  trying  occasions.  Yet,  stung  by  the 
remembrance  of  my  recent  unseemly  behavior  at 
the  farmers  house,  I  sat  down  by  the  roadside  in 
order  to  think  it  all  out. 

There  I  sat  musing  until  the  curtain  of  night 
dropped  down  over  the  landscape;  until  the  dark- 
ness revealed  the  gleaming  stars,  and  until  absolute 
silence  reigned,  save  the  voice  of  the  whip-or-will 
pouring  its  monotonous,  senseless  cry  upon  the 
night,  wounding  its  solemn  stillness. 

My  cogitations  ended,  I  crept  into  the  embrace  of 
(2)  33 


34  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 


a  last  years  hay  stack,  sleeping  as  calmly,  as 
soundly  as  a  tired  infant  upon  its  mothers  breast. 
The  dawn  of  day  sent  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun 
full  and  warm  upon  my  trembling  eyelids. 

For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  experienced  the 
novel  sounds  of  the  awakening  world  in  the  coun- 
try; the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  singing  of  birds,  the 
purling  of  brooks,  and  all  those  rural  sounds,  so 
grateful  to  the  ears  of  dwellers  in  cities,  struck  my 
delighted  senses,  and  there  I  lingered.  Evening 
came  on  again.  The  sun  was  just  sinking  in  the 
rosy  West,  streaking  that  distant  part  of  the 
heavens  with  mellow  rays  of  light  tinted  with  veins 
of  golden  red,  and  merging  into  a  twilight  which 
was  fast  fading  into  darkness. 

The  next  morning  came  and  I  started  on  my  way , 
walking  until  the  day  was  far  advanced.  I  had 
left  the  road  and  was  climbing  the  mountain  steeps, 
arriving  about  night  fall  at  the  summit.  Weary 
and  sick  at  heart,  I  seated  myself  upon  a  high  pro- 
jecting point  of  rock,  and  there  I  sat  in  deep  medi- 
tation long  after  the  darkness  had  enveloped  me. 
Not  a  sound  was  audible  except  the  dismal  hoot  of 
the  owl,  and  the  crackling  of  dry  twigs,  as  some 
animal  of  the  forest  crept  stealthily  along  in  quest 
of  prey. 

As  my  eyes  suited  themselves  to  the  darkness, 
there  shot  out  into  the  obscurity,  from  afar,  a  scin- 
tillating ray  of  light  which  soon  broadened  into  a 
full  flame,  and  then  into  the  ruddy  blaze  of  a 
camp-fire.  Indistinct  human  figures  flitted  about 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  35 

the  fire,  seemingly  occupied,  but  so  far  below  me 
that  that  they  had  the  proportions  of  liliputians. 
Bent  on  investigating,  I  started  from  my  lofty 
perch  and  made  my  way,  guided  by  the  shadowy 
light  in  the  camp,  down  the  mountain  side.  Drop- 
ping from  crag  to  crag,  sustaining  myself  now  by 
a  twig,  now  by  the  exposed  roots  of  a  fallen  tree,  I 
reached  the  bottom. 

Working  through  the  undergrowth,  my  feet  be- 
came entangled  in  masses  of  wild  vines,  tossing  me 
from  my  feet  a  number  of  times,  and  bruising  me 
badly.  Getting  up  again,  I  crept  through  netted 
underbrush ,  at  the  risk  of  tearing  the  skin  from  my 
hands  and  face,  all  accompanied,  I  fear,  with  a  mild 
form  of  mental  profanity.  But  I  kept  on. 

After  a  struggle  of  this  sort  for  over  an  hour  I  ar- 
rived at  a  point  where  I  could  command  the  whole 
scene,  and  where  I  perceived  that  I  was  close  upon 
an  encampment  of  vile  tramps.  Taking  a  quiet 
survey  of  the  camp,  and  its  crew,  I  was  struck  with 
the  danger  of  my  position.  There  was  a  gang  of 
villainous  looking  fellows  disposed  in  various  atti- 
tudes of  idling. 

There  was  a  tripod  set  up ,  with  an  iron  pot  sus- 
pended from  the  apex,  which  was  actively  boiling, 
and  general  preparations  were  going  forward  for 
the  cooking  of  a  meal.  Fowls,  corn  and  other  pro- 
visions were  lying  about,  all  stolen  of  course,  and 
on  the  coals  beneath  the  iron  pot  was  a  sheet  of 
tinned  iron,  upon  which  was  an  inviting  looking 
corn-pone  in  process  of  baking.  If  the  villians  had 


36  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

been  made  to  decamp  in  a  hurry,  the  whole  outfit, 
exclusive  of  the  stolen  plunder,  might  have  been 
replaced  without  a  serious  disturbance  of  their 
financial  system. 

It  was  too  late  to  retreat,  for  they  had  perceived 
me,  and  I  felt  that  now  was  the  time  to  show  my 
nerve  if  I  had  any,  and  so,  bracing  myself  up 
against  a  natural  fear  in  such  a  presence,  I  walked 
boldly  in  among  them,  sustained  by  an  assumed  air 
of  bravery  which  I  did  not  feel. 

A  gruff  voice  cried  out. 

1 '  Who  comes  here  ? " 

"A  friend,"  I  answered,  not  knowing  what  else  to 
say,  "  one  who  would  break  bread  with  you." 

"Are  you  one  of  us,"  demanded  a  burly  fellow 
who  proved  to  be  the  leader,  "  are  you  one  of  us  ?" 
and  he  looked  me  all  over  just  as  a  horse  Jockey 
examines  an  animal  he  is  going  to  purchase 

"  That  depends,"  I  replied,  looking  straight  into 
his  eyes  for  effect,  "if  you  mean  to  ask  me 
whether  I  am  one  of  those  idle  theiving  vagabonds 
who  roam  over  the  country  ready  for  anything 
from  pitch-and-toss  to  manslaughter;  who  live  by 
robbing  hen  roosts,  who  are  afraid  to  steal  except 
under  cover  of  night,  and  who  are  too  lazy  to  work, 
I  answer,  I  am  not." 

I  trembled  while  uttering  this  defiant  speech, 
and  expected,  at  least,  to  be  hustled  away  with  a 
broken  head.  It  took  the  whole  gang  by  surprise, 
and  the  leader  remarked: 

"  We  ain't  none  o'  that  kind  o'  men.     We're 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  37 

'spectable  citizens.  Aint  we  boys  ? "  and  there  arose 
a  deafening  "  Yes  "  from  the  whole  gang. 

"  Kill  him,  kill  him,"  shouted  a  dozen  cracked 
voices,  while  an  advance  movement  was  made  to- 
wards me  by  the  crowd,  as  if  they  intended  to 
carry  their  murderous  threat  into  execution.  But, 
seeing  that  I  did  not  seem  much  disturbed  by  their 
attitude  they  halted,  walked  all  around  me,  half 
pityingly,  half  admiringly,  while  I  kept  my  eyes 
fastened  upon  them. 

"  Why,  for  a  yung'im,"  said  one  of  them  approv- 
ingly, "  he's  got  more  gall  nor  a  gypsy  king — he's 
as  bully  as  though  he'd  been  on  the  road  for  years," 
and  they  all  laughed  boisterously. 

"  I  say,"  chimed  in  another.  "  Lets  roast  him," 
and  this  seemed  such  a  funny  proposition  that  they 
all  laughed  again. 

"  Leave  him  to  me,"  importuned  the  burly  leader 
of  the  ruffians,  I'll  larn  him  not  to  come  into  our 
camp  a-blusterin  like  he  was  a  giant,  an  afore  he's 
cut  his  teeth." 

After  delivering  himself  of  this  patronizing 
speech  the  head  ruffian  seemed  to  be  enjoying  in 
imagination  the  exercise  of  pounding  me  into  a 
jelly,  continuing  in  a  jocular  mood — 

"  Yung  'un  aint  you  afeered  ?"  and  his  fists  in- 
stinctively doubled  up. 

" Afraid  of  what,  such  men  as  you  ?  No,  I  fear 
none  of  you,  any  of  you,  all  of  you,  for  that  matter. 
I  saw  your  camp  from  a  distance ,  and  I  came  here 


38  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

to  ask  for  a  supper,  and  a  place  to  rest  my  weary 
limbs  until  morning. " 

"O,  but  he's  a  cool  duffer,  aint  he,"  ejaculated 
one  of  the  crew,  more  greasy  than  the  others,  and 
who  seemed  from  the  insignia  in  his  hands  to  be  the 
cook.  "  What  a  chicken  purveyor  he'd  make  now, 
wouldn't  he,"  and  he  laughed  immoderately  at  his 
own  wit. 

"  We'll  give  ye  the  best  there  is  to  eat,"  promised 
the  leader,  but  you  aint  agoin  away  from  camp  till 
I  larn  you  a  lesson  by  givin'  you  a  lickin'  accordin' 
to  science,  my  bloomin'  youth." 

"Altogether,"  responded  I,  "you  may  do  it. 
But  you  won't  do  it  alone,"  and  I  stood  on  the  de- 
fensive. "  We  won't,  we  won't,  won't  we,  you 
bully  boy"  shouted  the  ruffians  in  chorus,  "  why 
won't  we?"  "Because  it  would  be  cowardly"  I 
responded,  "even  to  think  of  such  a  thing,  and 
bad  as  you  are,  criminals,  as  you  doubtless  are, 
you  would  hesitate  to  attack  a  single  man,  unless  it 
were  to  plunder  him  of  his  money,  and,  as  I  have 
none,  there  is  no  temptation  for  you,  and  I  feel  per- 
fectly safe." 

"  Ye're  a  game  'un,  I'm  blowed  if  you  aint,"  re- 
marked the  captain  with  some  show  of  respect,  but, 
continuing,  said: 

"I  could  chaw  ye  up,  in  about  two  minutes," 
and  he  glared  at  me  as  if  he  would  like  no  better 
fun  than  mauling  me  to  death  and  eating  me  after- 
wards. 

"  Perhaps  so/'  I  boldly  answered,  "  but  I  promise 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  31) 

you  that  when  you  try  it  you  may  find  yourself 
badly  mistaken." 

"Let's  tie  the  brat  up  to  a  tree  and  lick  the 
stuffen  out 'en  him,"  advised  one  of  the  scamps, 
he's  too  fresh,  we'd  better  pickle  him." 

I  knew  from  unmistakable  signs  that  the  villians 
would  soon  work  themselves  into  some  devlish 
humor,  which  foreboded  no  good  to  me  if  I  wavered. 
Indeed,  the  captain  seemed  about  to  give  the  word 
when  I  advanced,  saying: 

'  *  Perhaps  some  of  you  who  think  me  a  forward 
youth  would  like  to  prove  it.  You  are  twenty  to 
one,  big  odds,  but  if  you  promise  to  come  one  at  a 
time  I  will  engage  to  trounce  the  whole  of  you,  one 
after  the  other,  between  now  and  to-morrow  at 
dark,  commencing  with  you,  Captain."  This  was 
the  safest  proposition  I  could  have  made,  for  there 
might  be  a  chance  of  escape  between  the  acts.  The 
hulking  leader,  stung  into  a  generous  sentiment  by 
my  assumed  courage,  scowled  upon  the  lesser 
rogues,  saying  with  a  sneer  and  a  look  of  con- 
tempt: 

"  Now,  look-a-here  fellers,  no  one  musn't  handle 
this  here  cub  but  me,  and  after  I've  taken  the  con- 
ceit out'en  him  I  give  you  my  word  I'll  lick  any  of 
this  here  gang  that  offers  to  insult  him,  let  alone 
to  hit  him — ye  hear  me." 

All  agreed  to  this,  per  force,  when,  addressing 
the  head  bully,  I  said: 

14  How  do  I  know  but  you  may  all  jump  upon 
me  if  I  chance  to  overmatch  you  ? " 


40  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"No,"  answered  the  champion,  honor  among 
thieves,  eh  boys  ? "  appealing  to  the  crowd. 

"  Yes,  honor  among  thieves,"  shouted  the  boys, 
"  besides,  he  won't  be  worth  doin'  nothin'  to  when 
he  gits  through  your  mill." 

I  knew  it  was  a  bold  undertaking  for  a  moderate 
sized  man  like  myself,  to  stand  up  in  a  fistic  en- 
counter with  a  fellow  whose  prowess  had  been 
proven,  not  only  in  his  own  camp,  but  as  I  learned, 
whenever  other  bands  of  the  same  stamp  had  met 
him,  and  whose  leadership  had  grown  out  of  that 
fact— but  there  was  no  other  way  out  of  the  camp. 

I  had  received  a  pretty  good  training,  was  a 
fair  boxer,  was  young,  vigorous,  was  possessed  of 
confidence  and  resolution,  and,  in  addition,  was 
backed  by  a  physique  which  it  took  considerable  to 
shake.  I  knew  that  my  antagonist  was  a  rioter 
whose  strength  had  been  impaired  by  drink,  and 
other  dissipation.  Well,  preparations  were  made, 
and  we  confronted  each  other  as  game  cocks  do 
when  sparing  for  an  advantage.  The  captain  say- 
ing tauntingly: 

"  Now,  my  wictim,  we'll  try  this  thing  on  afore 
supper,  and  if  I  hurt  ye  much,  we'll  feed  ye  wid  a 
spoon.  If  ye  want'er  give  in  afore  I  finish  ye, 
jist  holler,  enough." 

'Very  well,"  I  answered,  and,  turning  my  eyes 
to  the  excited  spectators  so  anxiously  awaiting 
my  martyrdom,  I  asked: 

"  Can  I  trust  you,  one  and  all,  not  to  fall  foul  of 
me,  but  let  us  two  settle  it  ? " 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  4 

"Ye  kin,  ye  kin,"  they  shouted  impatiently, 
' '  we  aint  no  men  to  take  advantage  of  a  kid  like 
you.  So  go  it  yung  'un." 

Being  so  arranged,  we,  the  combatants,  put  our- 
selves again  in  position.  The  tramps  formed  a 
ring  about  us. 

"  Now,  yung  'un,'*  admonished  the  brute  leader, 
"  look  out  for  your  peepers,"  and  struck  out  as  if 
certain  of  a  short  combat  and  an  easy  victory. 

I  stopped  the  first  blow  dexterously  with  my 
right,  and,  at  the  same  time,  planted  my  left  under 
the  fellows  jaw,  laying  him  flat  upon  his  back 
upon  the  sod.  This  surprised  him.  But  he  got  up, 
and,  stung  by  the  unexpected  blow,  rushed  at  me 
wild  with  excitement  and  anger.  He  was  com- 
pletely off  his  guard,  when  a  stinging  right  hander 
square  between  the  eyes,  followed  by  the  left  just 
under  the  ear  stretched  the  giant  out  again  upon 
the  sod. 

The  whole  band  of  miscreants,  dismayed,  saw 
the  bully  done  for.  After  fifteen  minutes  or  so,  he 
was  put  upon  his  legs,  when  he  owned  his  defeat, 
shaking  hands  with  me,  and  saying  in  a  subdued 
manner — 

c '  See  here  yung  'un  you're  a  brick  from  brick- 
town.  That's  the  fust  time  I've  been  licked  since 
my  good  old  father  whaled  me." 

We  shook  hands  again,  and,  to  complete  the 
bravado  I  was  playing,  I  cooly  inquired: 

' '  Is  there  another  of  you  who  would  like  to  pun- 
ish me?" 


42  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

They  declined  by  making  no  response.  Supper 
was  eaten  in  silence ,  after  which  each  one  stretched 
himself  before  the  fire,  feet  to  the  glowing  coals, 
and  slept — at  least  they  did.  I  slept  none  of  course , 
being  on  the  alert  for  escape.  Towards  morning, 
sometime  before  dawn,  I  took  advantage  of  the 
snoring  tramps  and  slipped  away. 

I  was  glad  to  escape,  for  I  felt  certain  that  if  I 
had  to  remain  another  day ,  or  even  until  they  were 
well  awake,  the  generous  spasm  that  they  had 
been  seized  with  would  have  evaporated  and  that  I 
should  be  maltreated,  perhaps  murdered — who 
knows.  After  this  I  kept  the  high  road  until  I  got  to 
my  destination,  not  taking  any  more  such  chances 
as  had  brought  me  into  the  company  I  had  just 
left. 


CHAPTER  V. 

I  DECIDE  TO   BE   A  SAILOR. 

AFTER  escaping  from  the  tramps,  and  being  only 
about  twenty  miles  from  Miss  Searson's  home,  I 
concluded  that  the  sooner  I  arrived  there  and 
adopted  some  plan  as  to  my  future,  the  better  it 
would  be  for  me,  and  the  sooner  I  would  get  started 
on  my  career,  whatever  it  was  going  to  be. 

It  seemed  at  best  but  a  poor  prospect  for  me — 
the  thought  was  constantly  pressing  upon  my  brain, 
the  conviction  was  eating  into  my  life  that,  ulti- 
mately, I  should  find  my  way  into  the  forecastle  of 
some  ship,  when  my  fate  would  be  decided. 

My  firm  resolution,  however,  should  I  become  a 
sailor,  was  to  stop  at  nothing  short  of  being  in 
command.  To  adopt  such  a  course  of  life  as  a 
means  of  livelihood ,  and  to  remain  in  the  forecastle 
all  my  life  was  no  part  of  my  expectation — any- 
thing but  that. 

I  was  glad  to  have  escaped  from  the  villainous 
crew,  into  which  my  curiosity  had  led  me,  with  a 
whole  skin.  Although  I  possessed  confidence  and 
courage,  I  did  not  deem  it  a  safe  experiment  to 
remain  in  their  camp  after  such  a  victory  as  I  had 
won. 

I  was  sure  that  if  I  had  remained  until  the  day 
43 


44  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

dawned,  and  symptoms  of  coming  daylight  were 
streaking  the  East  when  I  left  their  camp,  the 
cowardly  ruffians  would  have  gotten  over  their  en- 
forced sentiment  of  generosity,  created  by  my  bold 
and  defiant  action,  and  revenge  might  have 
prompted  them  to  dispose  of  me  in  some  murderous 
way. 

I  walked  away  hastily,  for  I  feared  that  they 
might  follow  in  pursuit,  and  had  gotten  well  rid  of 
them,  when  all  those  sights  and  sounds  of  an 
awakening  world  in  the  country,  of  which  dwellers 
in  cities  make  poetry,  came  to  my  ears  in  a  sort  of 
melody.  I  had  never  before  been  in  the  country 
and  those  rural  murmurings  were  a  magic  sym- 
phony— a  music  to  which  my  soul  responded. 

It  seemed  to  me,  that  in  my  gloomy  retrospect, 
overy  occupation  I  had  heretofore  tried  had  proved 
»,  failure.  What  is  called  civilization  and  society 
were  to  my  mind  but  trammels  upon  individual 
action,  and  hence  hateful  to  me,  and  encouraged 
my  resistence  to  everything  but  the  sea.  How 
could  I  ever  reconcile  my  mind,  I  thought,  to  bear 
the  chains  which  custom  forges,  and  enter  into  such 
an  artificial  state  of  existence,  as  I  deemed  shore 
pursuits,  as  making  choice  of  any  land  occupa- 
tion— on  this  point  my  views  have  modified,  ex- 
perience has  taught  me  the  fallacy  of  such  an 
idea. 

This  country  life  had  awakened  new  dreams,  the 
like  of  which  I  had  not  experienced  between  the  walls 
of  brick  and  stone  which  had  bounded  my  vision  in 


W&AJJNG   VOYAGE.  45 

the  city.  Those  balmy  days  and  starry  nights,  the 
forest,  the  wild  flowers,  and  the  mating  birds  utter- 
ing their  love-calls  from  wooded  depths,  had  given 
me  a  new  inspiration — but  the  sea  obtruded  again. 
I  thought  this  all  over,  wavering  in  my  resolu- 
tion as  to  what  I  should  do,  the  only  result  being  a 
determination  to  return  at  once  to  all  the  home  I 
had,  and  talk  with  my  kind  sensible  friend  Miss 
Searson.  As  the  image  of  my  dear  mother  arose 
before  me,  it  was  as  if  she  waited  in  the  home  of 
the  woman  who  had  stood  with  me  at  that  bedside 
of  death  which  had  left  me  so  desolate.  I  made  a 
rapid  start  for  my  destination. 

I  met  with  no  further  adventures,  but  proceeded 
on  my  way  without  again  attempting  to  bargain 
my  labor  for  bread.  I  had  had  enough  of  that, 
and  of  tramps  also.  When  I  entered  the  house  my 
quaint  old  friend  was  rejoiced  to  see  me  again,  but 
her  face  expressed  some  doubt  at  my  coming  with, 
out  warning,  as  if  she  were  asking,  well,  what  has 
happened  now  ? 

I  explained  by  saying:  "  My  dear  friend,  I  have 
returned  without  giving  you  notice  because  I  could 
not  longer  endure  the  place,  nor  the  man,  to  whom 
I  had  engaged  myself.  The  fact  is,  that  I  am 
almost  tired  of  life.  Nothing  that  I  undertake 
seems  to  prosper.  Here  I  am,  almost  a  man,  and 
accomplished  what  ?  I  want  your  advice." 

"Well,  my  dear  boy,  you  shall  have  it.  But 
first  tell  me  why  you  have  left  the  place  in  which 
I  thought  you  were  so  well  satisfied." 


46  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"To  tell  the  truth  then,  I  did  my  work  well 
enough  but  my  heart  was  not  in  it.  I  suppose  that 
my  employer  observed  it,  and  fell  into  a  habit  of 
grumbling  at  me." 

' '  Do  you  blame  yourself  in  any  degree  ? "  she 
suggested. 

"  Y-e-s— I  think  I  do." 

"  Well,  that  is  wholesome  at  least." 

' '  It  was  not  active  enough  for  me  and  I  decided 
to  leave  there,. and  told  him  so.  I  asked  him  t° 
pay  me  money  enough  to  take  me  here,  at  which  he 
commenced  to  abuse  me,  vowing  that  he  would  not 
give  me  any  money,  but  on  the  contrary  would 
compel  me  to  remain,  adding,  that  he  would  find 
means  to  keep  me  at  work." 

"And  how  did  you  get  here  without  money  ? " 

"  Why,  I  took  french  leave  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  and  tramped  it.  I  secured  my  baggage, 
which  is  very  extensive,  as  you  observe"  putting  it 
down,  "  and  here  I  am." 

She  smiled,  asking,  "  And  where  did  you  eat,  my 
dear  boy?" 

"  Eat,  why,  I  scarcely  dare  tell  you  and  yet  I 
must." 

Then  I  told  her  all  about  how  I  had  intruded  my- 
self upon  the  farmer,  of  how  I  had  been  taken  for 
a  tramp,  of  how  I  had  won  the  dog,  and  of  having 
blundered  into  the  tramp-camp,  and  of  the  scene 
which  had  ensued. 

"Ah,  my  son/'  she  said,  and  her  cork-screw 
ringlets  trembled,  "you  have  had  a  very  rough 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  47 

experience  and  a  narrow  escape.  But  tell  me,  did 
yon  stoop  to  any  meanness  ? " 

"  No,  on  my  honor,  no,  through  it  all  I  demeaned 
myself  according  to  the  teachings  of  my  mother 
and  yourself.  Could  you  have  seen  me,  even  you, 
with  your  exalted  notions  of  propriety,  would  not 
have  condemned  me." 

"  Yes,  I  am  sure  you  did  not  lose  your  balance," 
she  said,  approvingly. 

''For  the  meal,"  I  continued,  "  which  the  farmer 
gave  me,  I  did  some  work,  such  as  he  would  permit 
me  in  his  anger  to  do.'* 

"  But  you  must  be  very  hungry  now.  Eat  of 
what  I  have,  as  if  it  were  your  own — which,  indeed, 
it  is.  After  that  you  had  better  go  to  bed.  To- 
morrow we  will  talk  over  what  is  best  for  you  to 
do." 

I  ate  my  meal ,  almost  choking  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  I  had  not  earned  it,  and  of  how  good  and 
kind  the  dear  old  woman  had  been  to  me.  I  knew 
she  had  but  little ,  and  yet  she  was  sharing  it  with 
me,  who  had  no  claim  upon  her  except  that  which 
springs  from  pure  humanity.  And  she  gave  me 
a  comfortable  place  to  sleep. 

And  what  had  I  to  offer  her — nothing  but  the 
hope  that  some  day  I  might  be  able  to  recompense 
her  in  accordance  with  the  respect  and  love  I  owed 
her— which  hope,  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  very  remote 
one. 

I  fell  asleep  with  these  reflections.  For  a  time, 
weary  as  I  was,  they  drove  sleep  from  my  eyes. 


48  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

Finally  I  dropped  off  into  a  deep  and  refreshing 
slumber,  which  lasted  until  the  sun  came  peering 
into  my  little  chamber.  I  got  up  and  dressed,  and, 
on  seeking  my  benefactress,  found  her  preparing 
our  simple  meal.  I  spoke  first,  saying: 

"  Good  morning,  can  I  assist  you  in  any  way  ?  I 
feel  so  refreshed  that  I  am  equal  to  anything  you 
may  require  of  me  —that  I  am  able  to  do. "  I  quali- 
fied the  latter  words  because  I  was  aware  that  the 
only  thing  I  could  have  offered  which  would  have 
been  of  use  to  her,  money,  I  had  none. 

She  noticed  the  sudden  change  in  my  spirit,  and, 
also,  the  shadow  that  came  over  my  face,  and, 
divining  the  cause,  said: 

"  You  need  not  feel  that  way,  my  dear.  I  know 
what  you  would  do  if  you  could.  If  you  had  the 
wealth  of  Monte  Cristo,  I  would  be  able  to  set  up 
as  a  princess — I  know  that." 

"  Indeed  you  would,  my  mother,"  I  replied  with 
feeling,  for  what  a  kind  hearted  friend  and  mother 
you  have  been  to  me  since  the  loss  of  my  own. 
But  what  have  I  done  for  you  ?  Nothing  but  share 
your  scanty  means,  and  give  you  a  world  of  trouble 
with  my  vagaries." 

•'  Don't  think  of  it,  don't  think  of  it,"  she 
answered,  looking  at  me  as  benign  as  an  angel. 

After  breakfast,  we  sat  down  to  talk.  I  opened 
the  conversation  by  saying  that  I  hardly  knew 
what  to  do;  that  whatever  I  had  undertaken  on 
land  had  been  a  failure,  because  I  really  did  not 
enter  into  such  employment  in  a  manner  hearty 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  49 

enough  to  accomplish  results.  Miss  Searson  looked 
at  me  with  a  sad  expression,  gave  a  preliminary 
cough,  and  said: 

' '  I  observe  that  your  fancy  for  the  sea  still  clings 
to  you.  You  know  that  it  is  a  hard  and  dangerous 
life.  I  fear  you  do  not  realize  the  constant  vicissi- 
tudes which  environ  the  life  of  a  mariner;  think  of 
how  many  ships  go  to  sea  every  year  upon  voyages 
from  which  they  never  return. " 

"  Yes,  I  realize  all  that.  I  know  that  the  life  of 
a  common  sailor  is  one  scene  of  insult,  danger  and 
drudgery.  If  I  thought  for  an  instant  that  I  should 
remain  a  before-the-mast  man,  as  sailors  are  called, 
I  would  cast  all  idea  of  it  away  from  me,  and  take 
any  position  on  shore  that  offered  itself.  But  I 
have  higher  aims.  I  will  attain  to  command,  and 
then,  it  rejoices  me  to  think  of  it,  you  will  welcome 
me  home  and  be  proud  of  me  that  I  have  won  the 
honor  I  covet — and  which  I  feel  equal  to  winning. ' 

"  I  hope  so,  my  son,  and  I  almost  believe  it.  I 
will  not  attempt  to  dissuade  you  against  your  firm 
inclination  for  the  sea.  What  I  have  done  for  you," 
she  added,  while  tears  welled  up  from  the  fountain 
of  her  affection,  "has  been  done  because  I  loved 
your  mother,  and  because,  too,  I  know  you  to  have 
been  a  good  and  dutiful  son,  and/'  here  she  hesi- 
tated, "  because  you  are  now  all  that  I  have  in  the 
world  to  love  and  to  live  for. " 

"  Oh,  dear  Miss  Searson,  how  sweet  and  good  that 
is  of  you,"  here  I  broke  down  completely,  she  con- 
(4) 


50  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

tinuing,  and  trying  to  look  cheerful:  "  I  am  sure, 
also,  that  whatever  you  may  set  your  heart  upon 
doing,  you  will  do  in  an  honorable,  straight  for- 
ward way.  As  for  me  I  have  but  a  few  short 
years  to  remain  upon  this  earthly  scene,  and  may 
not  live  to  see  your  return,  and  enjoy  the  success  I 
am 'sure  you  deserve." 

"Oh  mother,  dear  mother,  do  not  say  such 
things,"  I  quickly  answered,  "it  distresses  me 
more  than  words  can  express." 

Much  more  conversation  took  place  between  us, 
and  it  was  afternoon  before  we  had  finished.  Her 
well-stored  and  well-balanced  mind  offered  advice 
and  suggestions,  which,  during  my  whole  carrer, 
were  constantly  aiding  me.  I  never  entered  upon 
any  undertaking,  even  when  far  away  from  her, 
that  I  did  not  recur  with  profit  to  the  sound  and 
practical  sense  uttered  by  the  dear,  gentle,  lonely 
old  woman. 

It  was  decided  then,  with  her  approbation,  since 
I  would  have  it  so,  that  I  should  become  a  sailor- 
man.  There  were  questions  of  what  I  should  do 
and  how  commence,  in  seeking  my  desire  to  become 
a  forecastle  hand.  First  I  thought  of  shipping  in 
the  Navy  of  my  country.  This,  however,  my  sage 
advisor  objected  to,  saying: 

' '  How  can  you  ever  reach  the  command  of  a  ship 
if  you  enlist  in  the  Navy  ?  You  know  that  officers 
are  made  at  Annapolis,  to  which  Academy  they  are 
sent  by  political  appointment.  In  that  honorable 
service  you  can  become  only  a  petty  officer — you 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  51 

can  get  no  higher.  If  you  must  go  to  sea,  why  go 
in  a  merchant  vessel  where  promotion  is  a  matter 
of  merit." 

Now,  this  was  all  so  wise,  so  far  seeing,  and 
uttered  in  such  a  convincing  tone  of  voice  that  I 
fell  right  into  it — the  truth  came  to  me  in  such  a 
crushing  manner  that  it  was  conviction. 

After  looking  about  among  the  shipping  for  over 
a  week  and  finding  no  berth,  for  I  was  only  a 
greenhorn,  I  became  very  much  discouraged,  and 
so  told  Miss  Searson  every  evening  when  I  went 
home.  One  day  I  formed  a  resolution  to  make  my 
first  voyage  on  a  whaling  cruise.  I  was  so  full  of 
this  solution  of  my  fate  that  I  hastened  to  acquaint 
my  benefactress  of  it,  and  secure,  if  possible,  her 
consent  to  it. 

When  I  stated  the  proposition  she  made  no 
answer,  but  continued  about  her  work  as  if  she  had 
not  heard  me,  and  I  thought  for  a  time  that  she 
had  not.  But,  suddenly  she  turned  toward  me  with 
a  smile  of  approval,  "  Well,  I  think  that  is  a  good 
start  to  make,"  and,  falling  into  thought  again, 
enquired,  "  Have  you  selected  a  vessel  yet  ? " 

I  answered  no,  that  I  had  done  nothing  since 
the  idea  struck  me,  but  to  hurry  home  for  her 
approval. 

We  had  a  quiet  frugal  meal ,  and  sat  talking  for 
hours  about  my  prospects,  ahout  what  kind  of 
vessel  I  would  get,  the  officers,  the  length  of  time  I 
should  be  absent,  and  many  other  things  relating  to 


52  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

my  welfare  and  comfort.  After  this,  we  separated 
for  the  night,  going  to  our  respective  chambers. 

The  next  morning  we  had  an  early  breakfast, 
some  more  talk,  and  I  started  down  town  to  find  a 
vessel  that  was  going  on  a  whaling  voyage.  I  hunted 
all  day  in  and  about  the  docks  with  but  little  success, 
going  home  late  in  the  afternoon  weary  and  dis- 
appointed. The  morning  after,  I  started  again, 
going  through  the  same  experience. 

Upon  my  return  in  the  evening,  at  the  frugal 
evening  meal,  I  related  the  trials  of  the  day,  and 
the  untoward  events  which  seemed  to  surround  me 
in  my  efforts  to  escape  my  dependence  upon  kind- 
ness and  consideration.  She  refused  to  listen  to 
such  a  view  of  my  position,  but  encouraged  me  by 
more  good  advice,  telling  me  to  try  again,  and 
again  until  success  crowned  my  efforts.  The  morn- 
ing after  I  started  again,  going  through  the  same 
experience 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WHALES  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

As  I  had  now  undertaken  to  be  a  sailor,  and 
inaugurate  my  career  on  board  a  whaler  with  the 
desire  and  intention  of  ultimately  becoming  the 
captain  of  a  merchant  vessel,  I  felt  it  incumbent 
upon  me  to  learn  something  about  the  great  animal, 
the  capture  of  which  I  was  going  to  engage  in.  I 
began,  also,  to  read  nautical  books  with  the  inten- 
tion of  making  myself  acquainted  with  the  princi- 
ples of  navigation. 

Whaling,  like  other  human  pursuits,  grew  out  of 
the  wants  and  ambitions  of  mankind.  It  was  a 
rude  occupation  darly  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 

History  teaches  us  that  the  Greeks  practiced  it, 
and  from  that  time,  if  not  earlier,  the  capture  of 
the  whale  was  a  part  of  the  habits  of  almost  every 
seaboard  people.  The  time  and  locality  when  whal- 
ing voyages  commenced  is  not  within  the  memory 
of  man  with  any  exactitude. 

In  looking  up  the  early  voyages  it  will  be  found 
that  the  Biscayans  followed  whaling  as  a  part  of 
their  commercial  system.  But,  to  fix  upon  any 
nation  or  people  as  being  the  pioneers  in  this  ardu- 
ous business,  is  to  discount  human  industry,  and  to 
suppose  that,  all  along  the  coast  of  the  different 

S3 


54  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

parts  of  the  world  where  whales  fairly  teemed ,  the 
maritime  population  sat  supinely  looking  on  until 
taught  by  younger  nations  the  value  of  the  levia- 
than to  be  seen  every  hour  of  the  day  from  their 
rude  habitations. 

Their  needs,  the  spirit  of  adventure,  and  the 
dare-devil  ambition  of  the  human  race  taught  those 
early  peoples  to  rig  up  the  requisite  tackle,  and 
invent  new  modes  for  capturing  the  monster  which 
has,  in  these  days,  millions  invested  for  its  destruc- 
tion. 

Some  time  in  the  year  eight  hundred,  to  follow 
those  who  have  investigated  and  written  upon  the 
subject,  commenced  the  whaling  commerce,  descend- 
ing to  the  present  time  with  scarcely  any  improve- 
ment in  modes  of  capture,  except  the  invention  of 
lance-throwing  guns  in  place  of  the  hand  lance  and 
harpoon. 

King  Alfred  is  said  to  have  gotten  information 
from  the  Danes,  to  found  English  commerce  upon, 
who  sailed  along  the  coasts  of  those  Scandinavian 
countries  where  whales  were  pursued  and  captured 
for  their  yield  of  oil — commerce  then  being  ignorant 
of  the  value  of  whalebone. 

At  a  certain  time  in  the  history  of  England ,  a 
branch  of  the  king's  revenue  was  the  right  to  any 
whales  which  were  caught,  or  Cast  up,  on  the  coast 
and  wrecked,  as  whales  frequently  are.  These 
were  called  royal-fish,  and  were  granted  to  the 
king  in  consideration  of  the  protection  given  to  the 
people  against  pirates  and  other  depredators. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  55 

One  of  the  curious  parts  of  this  right  of  the 
king  to  royal-fish  was,  that  the  queen  consort 
became  entitled  to  her  share  of  this  contribution 
from  the  sea,  and  the  whale  was  divided  in  a  whim- 
sical manner.  The  king  was  entitled  to  the  head, 
and  the  queen  to  the  tail. 

This  unique  division  was  devised,  it  is  said,  in 
order  that  the  queen's  wardrobe  might  be  supplied 
with  whalebone  for  her  stays.  If  this  were  the 
object  of  the  whim,  and  who  dare  question  history, 
the  stays  of  the  queen  must  have  lacked  the  requi- 
site rigidity,  if  that  quality  depended  upon  her  share 
of  the  plunder,  as  the  whalebone  of  commerce  is 
procured  from  the  head  of  the  whale  and  not  from 
the  body. 

But  what  difference  does  it  make  to  us,  in  these 
days  of  steam  corset  works  and  steel  springs, 
whether  the  queen  who  lived  so  long  ago  as  the 
time  of  royal-fish  had  any  stays  at  all. 

All  of  the  early  accounts  of  whales  and  whale 
fishing,  are  to  a  great  extent  the  crude  notion  of 
those  who  observed  without  investigation;  a  mix- 
ture of  fact,  fancy,  superstition,  and  a  want  of  appli- 
cation of  the  simplest  rules  of  judgment  prevailed. 
Appearances  were  accepted  as  fact  without  investi- 
gation; the  more  ignorant  the  observer  the  more 
extravagant  the  statements. 

Even  the  old  style  naturalist  adopted  marvellous 
accounts,  given  by  hardy  mariners,  and  gravely  put 
many  monstrous  tales  in  their  books  as  a  guide  for 


56  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

future  students;  such  stuff  would  have  sent  a  mod- 
ern investigator  into  a  violent  fit  of  contempt. 

The  whale  fishery  of  America,  I  mean  of  the 
colonies  which  afterwards  became  the  United  States, 
began  at  an  early  period,  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Capt.  John  Smith,  if  not  earlier  than  that  period. 
The  right  of  catching  whales  was  granted  by  royal 
charter  to  certain  proprietors  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  and  the  first  whale  is  said  to  have  beep 
killed  by  one  of  the  inhabitants  somewhere  between 
1660  and  1670 — a  wide  range,  ten  years,  for  the 
statement  of  a  fact. 

About  this  time  a  violent  dispute  arose  as  to  the 
ownership  of  a  whale  found  floating  adrift  with  a 
harpoon  in  it.  This  became  very  much  of  a  ques- 
tion in  the  colony,  even  penetrating  royal  councils 
on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  loudest  claimants 
were  those  who  had  never  seen  either  a  harpoon  or 
a  whale,  or  had  any  adequate  idea  of  what  either 
was  like — however,  I  am  not  trying  the  case  at  this 
time. 

Shore  whaling  was  pursued  ail  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  Atlantic,  mostly  by  crews  owning  a 
boat  in  common.  This  sort  of  whaling  existed  as 
long  as  whales  were  found  in  shore,  within  rowing 
distance  for  the  boats,  and  was  an  enterprise  in 
which  much  money  was  employed. 

When  the  prey  became  scarce,  shore  fishing 
slacked  off  near  the  coast,  and  the  industry 
took  the  form  of  deep  sea  fishing,  the  prows  of 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  57 

American  ships  ploughing  the  seas  of  unknown 
regions,  indeed,  to  the  very  extremes  of  the  world. 

Along  the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  and  further 
south,  it  is  one  of  the  customs  among  isolated  com- 
munities, dwelling  immediately  upon  the  sea-shore, 
to  own  a  boat  and  net  as  community  property  for 
the  purpose  of  supplying  themselves  with  fish. 

A  high  stout  mast  is  planted  in  the  sand,  upon 
the  margin  of  the  ocean,  having  cross  pieces  nailed 
at  intervals  to  serve  as  steps.  Up  this  mast,  dur- 
ing the  fishing  season,  some  male  member  of  the 
settlement  ascends  several  times  a  day  to  observe 
whether  the  blue-fish  are  running,  and,  upon  seeing 
in  the  distance  the  fish  breaking  the  surface  of  the 
water  into  foam,  and  the  gulls  hovering  over  it,  the 
neighborhood  is  apprised  of  the  fact. 

The  blue-fish  is  a  voracious  and  rapacious  inhabi- 
tant of  the  deep ,  and  when  he  strikes  the  small  fry 
with  his  powerful  razor-like  jaws,  hunks  of  the 
victim  float  to  the  surface,  and  that  is  the  cause  of 
the  gulls  hovering  over  the  school  of  fish  as  it 
moves  along  through  the  sea. 

When  the  lookout  gives  the  signal  from  the  top 
of  the  mast,  that  the  fish  are  coming,  the  community 
is  aroused  and  the  fishing  begins.  A  certain  num- 
ber of  the  men  man  the  boat,  the  women  taking  an 
oar  when  men  enough  are  not  at  home,  and  the  net 
is  set. 

Others  remain  upon  the  beach  to  assist  in  various 
ways  the  general  result.  After  the  catch  is  over, 


58  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

the  fish  are  divided,  each  family  getting  an  equal 
share,  that  is,  so  many  per  head. 

This  same  system  was  in  vogue  on  the  coast  to 
the  eastward,  when  the  lookout  from  the  spar- 
top  gave  the  signal  that  a  whale  had  spouted,  and 
then  away  went  the  boats,  each  striving  which 
should  get  to  the  whale  first.  After  the  capture, 
the  animal  was  towed  to  the  shore,  the  blubber 
stripped  off,  tried  out,  and  the  profits  adjusted 
among  the  participants. 

The  capture  of  blue  fish  upon  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina  is  annual,  and  the  product  of  the  catch  is 
salted  away  in  barrels  for  winter  use,  in  the  same 
way  that  inland  communities  do  with  the  year's 
pork  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  While  it  is  a  matter 
of  necessity  that  the  fish  should  be  caught,  it 
becomes  not  only  a  thing  of  utility,  but,  also,  a 
very  exciting  sport. 

I  remember  one  of  these  community  fishings  near 
Currituck  Sound,  North  Carolina,  where  old  and 
young,  male  and  female  engaged  in  the  capture. 
All  was  excitement  while  the  run  of  fish  lasted. 

The  boat  was  manned  by  both  sexes,  the  sea  was 
high  and  rough,  and  the  launching  of  the  boat 
through  the  surf  was  not  without  danger.  On  this 
occasion  nothing  worse  happened  than  a  drenching 
for  the  boat's  crew.  The  scene  was  one  worthy  the 
pencil  of  an  artist ;  in  the  boat  was  the  crew  toil- 
ing to  get  the  net  over  the  side,  and,  when  filled, 
the  bringing  of  the  catch  to  the  shore  and  landing  it. 

The  old  women  and  children  picked  the  fish  up 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  59 

from  the  beach  and  piled  them  in  heaps  as  they 
were  tossed  from  the  boat — each  one  doing  his  best 
to  be  efficient.  Close  to  the  sea  stood  a  two-wheel 
cart,  to  which  was  harnessed,  the  harness  being 
rope  and  corn  shucks,  a  small  horse  known  in  that 
locality  as  a  beach  pony,  looking  as  unmanageable 
as  the  wild  horse  of  the  desert,  but  really  as  docile 
and  spiritless  as  a  lamb. 

The  driver  of  the  cart,  Phely,  a  girl,  stood  just 
"behind  the  dash-board,  awaiting  the  requisite  load 
to  be  thrown  in,  which  was  done  without  any 
regard  to  her  feet  and  limbs.  This  girl  was  a 
beauty.  A  pronounced  blonde  with  a  complexion 
that  would  have  been  envied  by  many  women  living 
in  the  furnace  roasted  dwellings  of  cities,  where  the 
vitality  of  Heaven's  pure  air  is  completely  burned 
out. 

There  she  stood,  her  yellow  hair  streaming  down 
her  back,  wafted  seaward  to  return  like  golden 
harp  strings  to  a  neck  and  shoulders  shapely  and 
straight  as  those  of  a  trained  soldier.  Her  rich  com- 
plexion was  enhanced  by  the  glow  and  exercise  of 
providing  for  the  family;  on  her  head  was  a  boy's 
straw  hat,  fit  crown  for  such  a  queen,  and  the 
remainder  of  her  wardrobe,  well,  to  say  the  least, 
it  was  scanty — not  to  scanty,  however,  for  that 
climate. 

When  the  cart  was  loaded,  and  she  started  the 
pony  across  the  beach,  a  strong  breeze  blowing  in 
her  face — it  was  a  picture.  What  she  had  on,  would 
not  have  passed  muster  in  a  social  gathering  in  any 


60  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

of  the  large  cities;  it  was,  I  verily  believe,  nothing 
but  a  ten  cent  calico  gown,  disclosing,  as  the  wind 
fitted  it  closer  to  her,  a  form  divine — fit  to  grace 
the  niche  of  fame.  If  this  fisher-girl  could  have 
had  the  advantages  of  education  and  civilization 
she  would  have  borne  the  torch  of  Cupid  to  matri- 
monial victory — if  matrimony  has  any  victory. 

Well,  I  was  talking  of  whales.  But,  somehow, 
I  always  wander  off  from  my  subject  when  memory 
reverts  to  the  delights  of  such  duck-shooting  as  is 
to  be  enjoyed  in  that  particular  place.  There,  for 
many  years,  I  made  an  annual  pilgrimage — that 
house  on  the  beach  was  always  a  joy.  It  was  an 
old-fashioned  frame  structure,  situated  upon  the 
wide  strip  of  land  between  Currituck  Sound  and 
the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

It  was  surrounded — I  wonder  if  it  yet  stands 
there — by  persimmon  trees  from  which  the  mocking 
bird  poured  forth  its  imitative  power.  There  was 
a  scattered  growth  of  evergreen  pines  in  contrast 
to  the  other  trees.  The  house  stood  alone,  no 
neighbors  nearer  than  a  half  mile. 

At  night,  out  of  doors,  it  was  as  silent  as  the 
halls  of  death;  not  a  sound,  except  the  deep  bay  of 
the  house-dog.  The  wind  murmured  about  the 
angles  of  the  house,  and  through  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  in  dreary  harmony  with  the  roar  of  the 
ocean. 

What  a  paradise  that  was.  We  hunted  when- 
ever the  weather  was  suitable,  amusing  ourselves  at 
other  times  in  various  ways— repairing  boats,  rig- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  61 

ging  decoys,  cleaning  guns,  loading  shell,  and  mak- 
ing ready  for  a  good  day  when  it  came. 

We  breakfasted  about  eight  o'clock,  deliberately, 
like  Christians,  then  donning  our  shooting  attire, 
proceeded,  full  of  expectation,  to  the  landing.  Wad- 
ing out  to  our  boats  laden  with  the  implements  of 
destruction,  we  started  for  the  day's  sport. 

A  small  fleet  of  five  or  six  sail  start  in  a  bunch 
like  a  flock  of  white-winged  messenger  birds;  the 
swiftest  of  them  shoot  ahead,  fading  out  in  the 
distance;  others  disappear  behind  islands,  or  into 
one  of  the  numerous  small  bays,  and  for  that  day 
we  are  lost  to  each  other. 

We  meet  again  in  the  evening  to  show  what 
murderous  prowess  our  record  will  admit  of.  Tales 
are  told  around  the  festive  dinner  table,  which,  if 
related  in  the  forecastle  of  a  ship ,  would  be  con- 
signed to  the  marines  by  general  consent. 


CHAPTER  VII, 

I     SIGN     ARTICLES. 

AT  last,  one  day,  when  I  was  wandering  about 
the  shipping,  admiring  one  ship  for  its  smart 
appearance,  another  because  I  liked  the  looks  of  the 
captain,  a  third  because  I  was  much  pleased  at  the 
jaunty  figurehead  and  the  taught  and  trim  rigging 
—but  none  of  these  were  whaleships. 

Just  then  I  saw  swinging  in  the  wind,  like  a  jib 
sheet  in  a  calm  toying  with  fitful  airs,  a  sort  of 
banner  with  the  following  words  painted  in  large 
black  letters,  "  Landsmen  Wanted." 

I  stopped,  read  it  again,  entered  a  door  which 
stood  invitingly  open,  and  commenced  to  make 
enquiries.  The  place  looked  like  anything  but 
a  rendezvous  for  men  who  wanted  to  go  to  sea — it 
looked  so  trim,  and  prim,  and  all  that. 

There  were  some  clerks  inside  of  a  wire  fence, 
poring  over  account  books,  having  in  no  respect  the 
appearance  of  sailors.  They  took  not  the  slightest 
notice  of  me,  but  kept  on  scratching  away  at  the 
books  as  if  it  were  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
finish  what  they  were  doing  in  such  apparent 
hurry.  There  were  some  coils  of  rope,  bolts  of  can- 
vas, marine  curiosities  and  such  things  lying  about, 

62 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  63 

not  exactly  in  confusion,  and  yet  not  with  any 
attempt  at  order. 

As  I  looked  into  the  obscurity  of  the  back  part  of 
the  office,  I  saw  emerging  from  the  semi-darkness  a 
man  with  a  sailor-like  air.  He  came  rolling  toward 
me  as  if  he  had  left  his  shore  legs  in  pawn  when  he 
went  on  his  last  voyage  and  had  not  yet  redeemed 
them. 

As  he  came  forward  he  raised  his  fat  hand  to  the 
brim  of  a  hat,  which  looked  as  if  it  had  gone  through 
an  experience  of  hurricanes  and  other  violent 
weather,  at  the  same  time  putting  the  question  to 
me  in  an  awkwardly  polite  and  condescending  way: 
' '  Do  ye  want  to  ship  my  young  genleman  ? " 

I  thought  him  to  be  a  very  civil  sort  of  a  mariner, 
and  yet,  he  acted  upon  my  senses  as  if  he  were 
intended  to  be  a  decoy.  However,  I  replied  in  a 
civil  way  : 

"  Why,  yes,  I  have  some  notion  of  it."  "  Well," 
said  he,  "  Ye  can't  do  no  better  nor  shippin  right 
here  in  this  here  office.  Why,  I've  bin  twenty 
vyages,  an'  every  time  I  likes  it  mor'  en  more." 

"  Where  does  the  ship  go  and  what  is  her  name," 
I  timidly  enquired,  hoping  he  might  name  some 
place  of  which  I  had  read. 

"  Where  do  she  go,"  repeated  he,  slapping  his 
broad  thigh  with  the  flat  of  his  great  hand , ' '  where 
do  she  go.  Why,  my  lad,  she  be  named  the  Peri, 
and  do  be  goin  down  to  the  South  Seas,  where 
bread  grows  on  trees  and  where  oranges  an  fruits 


64  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

is  as  cheap  as  dirt,  and  where  the  people  don't  wear 
no  clothes — leastwise  not  much  of  any. " 

1  'Yes,  I  have  heard  of  the  South  Seas. " 

' '  In  course  ye  has.  Arter  y u' ve  bin  in  them  thar 
latitudes  fur  a  few  months  yer  har'll  curl  in  ring- 
lets like  a  bootiful  woman,  an'  yer  own  mother 
wouldn't  know  yer." 

"  I  apprehend  "  I  ventured,  "  that  its  on  a  whal- 
ing voyage  the  ship  is  going." 

"Right ye  are,  my  lad,  an  there's  a  good  deal 
more  things  as  ye  can't  apprehend  now,  an  won't, 
till  ye  gits  down  thar,"  and  I  imagined  that  he 
looked  a  trifle  malicious  out  of  the  corners  of  his 
eyes. 

After  a  long  talk  and  many  questions  asked  and 
answered,  I  agreed  to  sign  articles.  One  of  the 
young  clerks  came  forward  to  the  desk,  his  shirt 
collar  as  stiff  as  a  foresail  in  a  snow  storm  at  sea, 
and  laid  the  papers  before  me,  which  I  signed, 
receiving  in  return  an  order  for  some  pay  and  an 
outfit  when  I  got  on  board  ship. 

I  was  now  ready  to  start  from  New  York,  and 
was,  consequently,  obliged  to  say  good-bye  to  Miss 
Searson. 

The  leave-taking  seemed  almost  as  much  of  a 
sorrow  as  that  which  came  to  me  when  my  mother 
died.  It  had  to  be  gone  through  with  though,  and 
I  knew  that  the  dear  old  woman  would  feel  it  as 
much  as  I — we  should  both  dread  it,  but  it  was 
inevitable. 

I  was  to  take  the  train  that  evening.     After  we 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  65 

taken  some  light  supper  the  agony  came.  Miss 
Searson  tried  to  make  out  that  she  knew  nothing 
about  it,  for  she  went  on  cleaning  things  that  never 
had  a  speck  of  dust  on  them,  and  arranging  others 
for  the  twentieth  time  that  were  in  most  admirable 
order. 

I  occasionally  gave  a  funereal  cough  as  though 
my  days  were  numbered,  and,  in  fact,  we  were  the 
two  most  miserable  persons  in  existence — I  believed 
at  that  time. 

Finally,  I  mustered  up  courage  enough  to  say  : 

"My  dearest  and  only  friend  and  benefactress, 
it  almost  breaks  my  heart  to  leave  you,  who  have 
been  so  considerate,  so  kind,  so  gentle,  but  I  must 
go  you  know. " 

She  stood  like  a  statue,  dear  old  soul,  as  if  she 
neither  saw  nor  heard.  At  last,  coming  to  a  realiz- 
ation of  the  truth,  she  broke  out  into  violent  weep- 
ing and  coughing,  saying  between  her  sobs: 

"  Oh  !  I  know,  I  know,  I  shall  never  see  you 
again  when  once  you  are  gone.  But  it  is  for  the 
best.  I  will  be  with  you  constantly  in  spirit,  and 
my  prayers  will  ascend  nightly  for  you:  I  will  pray 
that  you  may  be  preserved,  as  well  from  the  wick- 
edness that  you  must  encounter  in  the  world,  as 
from  death  away  from  me.  Never  forget,  my  dear 
boy  the  teachings  of  your  mother:  keep  her  in  mem- 
ory and  you  cannot  go  wrong,"  and  with  this  she 
fainted  dead  away,  falling  upon  the  sofa  with  her 
pale  face  turned  toward  me. 
(5) 


66  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

I  was  too  full  of  sorrow  to  have  made  any  reply 
had  she  been  conscious,  and,  feeling  that  she  would 
soon  revive ,  I  kissed  her  forehead  and  her  treasured 
ringlets  a  dozen  times,  made  my  way  to  the  street 
and  to  the  depot. 

I  was  to  sail  from  the  port  of  Boston.  I  had 
never  seen  that  city  until  my  arrival  there  to  join 
my  ship.  It  seemed  a  queer  old  place,  so  full  of  col- 
onial history,  so  quaint  and  colonial  looking  yet  in 
places  :  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  United  States, 
filled  with  memories  of  the  Independence  of  our 
country:  I  enjoyed  a  stroll  through  the  older  parts 
of  it,  gazed  with  interest  at  its  houses  and  curiously 
winding  streets  :  its  lanes  and  alleys,  dignified  by 
high-sounding  names,  which  commenced  nowhere 
and  ended  in  the  same  place. 

Late  on  the  day  of  my  arrival  I  found  my  way  to 
the  ship,  which  had  not  yet  hauled  out  int  the 
stream.  The  decks  were  lumbered  up  with  all  sorts 
of  stores,  such  as  implements  of  capture,  boats, 
sails,  coils  of  rope,  and  a  great  many  more  things 
which  a  whaler  must  be  provided  with  before  she 
can  start  on  a  voyage  to  those  distant  seas  where 
only  whales  are  to  be  found  in  our  days. 

The  capture  of  whales  in  those  times  was  replete 
with  competition.  Success  depended  largely  upon 
skill,  patience,  perseverance  and  tact.  In  early 
times,  indeed  up  to  twenty  years  ago,  the  rudest 
instruments  only  were  required  to  enable  a  vessel 
to  fill  up  in  a  short  time  with  oil  and  bone. 

But   now,    the   traffic   has   become   much   more 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  67 

uncertain — it  has  become  much  more  a  matter  of 
trained  fitness  and  capital. 

In  place  of  the  old  harpoon  and  rude  lances, 
fashioned  by  a  blacksmith,  often  one  of  the  crew, 
made  it  important  to  get  pretty  close  to  the  animal 
sought  to  be  struck,  guns  have  been  invented  from 
which  the  irons  are  shot  to  a  considerable  distance, 
with  as  much  certainty,  perhaps  more,  than  was 
done  with  such  implements  as  were  used  in  the 
early  days  of  whaling. 

The  sailing  vessel  was  at  an  early  period  of  the 
industry,  the  only  style  of  ship  that  ever  started  on 
long  voyages,  and  arrival  at  their  destination  was  a 
matter  of  much  uncertainty,  they  having  to  con- 
tend with  storm  and  calm,  vicissitudes  of  weather, 
and  often  disaster. 

In  our  days  the  traffic  is  changed  to  some  extent, 
as  steam  vessels  have  been  brought  into  requisition, 
thus  enabling  the  money  invested  to  go  a  straight 
course,  comparatively,  to  the  destined  place  of 
operation,  to  begin  the  onslaught  long  before  the 
sailing  ship  makes  its  appearance. 

There  was  so  much  being  delivered  on  board  the 
ship  as  to  make  it  bewildering,  to  a  greenhorn 
especially,  even  to  look  at,  to  say  nothing  of  their 
uses.  There  were  lances,  buoys,  oars,  paddles,  lan- 
terns, boat-hatchets,  grapnells,  spare  sails,  fog- 
horns, tubs  for  harpoon  lines,  buckets,  canvass  in 
rolls,  compasses,  boat  anchors,  rowlocks,  harpoons, 
toggle-harpoons ,  boat-spades,  harpoon-guns,  bomb- 


08  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

lances,  and  a  mystery  of  things  necessary  to  the 
capture  of  whales. 

The  boats  were  hanging  to  the  davits,  preparatory 
to  stowing  on  deck,  and  the  hold  was  packed  with 
oil  casks  and  such  things  as  could  not  be  carried  on 
deck. 

The  ship  was  barque  rigged,  upwards  of  fifty 
years  old,  and  staunchly  built,  though  of  a  model 
long  since  obsolete. 

It  is  something  singular  that  many  of  the  whal- 
ing ships  now  in  the  trade  are  very  aged,  ranging 
from  thirty  to  upwards  of  eighty 'years,  but  as  ser- 
viceable, except  a  certain  rusty  appearance  and 
wear  of  rigging,  as  when  they  kissed  the  waters 
fresh  from  the  ways. 

This  extreme  longevity  of  whale  ships  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  result  of  a  calm  and  placid  existence 
as  compared  to  the  merchantman.  There  is  nothing 
like  the  wear  and  tear  on  a  whaler,  as  on  a  vessel 
constantly  sailing  from  port  to  port,  loading,  unload- 
ing, heavily  canvassed,  and  under  a  strain  of  sail 
from  one  destination  to  another. 

On  the  contrary,  the  whaler  does  not  carry  so 
much  sail  as  a  merchantman,  is  never  in  a  hurry, 
a  month  or  so  in  a  cruise  making  but  little1  differ- 
ence in  the  general  results.  When  on  the  whaling 
ground  they  are  under  easy  sail,  with  nothing  for 
the  ship  to  do  except  to  stand  off-and-on,  waiting 
for  the  boats  sent  out  in  pursuit  of  the  prey,  or 
to  give  the  signal  for  return. 

Besides  all  this,  it  is  said  and  believed,  that  the 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  69 

hull  of  a  whaler  becomes  completely  saturated 
with  oil  drippings,  which  add  to  its  quality  of 
defying  time  and  the  angry  elements;  to  resist  rot 
and  other  causes  which  soon  end  the  life  of  a 
regular  merchantman. 

The  Peri  carried  fore  and  main  courses,  lower 
and  upper  topsails,  to'-gallantsails  and  royals,  stay- 
sails, storm-sails,  jib,  flying-jib,  spanker,  and  gaff 
topsail.  She  was  rigged  pretty  lofty  considering 
the  period  at  which  she  was  launched,  but  it  did  not 
take  a  clipper  sailing  vessel  to  overhaul  her,  or 
even  keep  in  sight  of  her  heels  when  the  wind 
was  blowing  half  a  gale. 

She  carried  under  her  bowsprit,  between  that 
and  the  taut  rigged  dolphin  striker,  a  figurehead, 
an  unusual  thing  now  on  American  vessels,  clad  in 
a  parti  colored  robe,  hair  flowing  aft,  eyes  looking 
out  over  the  ocean  in  search  of  distant  climes,  and 
round  full  arms  stretched  out  as  if  to  embrace  the 
gods  of  ocean. 

It  would  be  a  weekrbefore  the  owners  were  ready 
for  the  ship  to  sail,  and,  consequently,  all  who  had 
joined  the  ship  were  kept  busy  at  various  occupa- 
tion, half -land,  and  half -sea,  labor;  stowing  away 
the  stores  and  getting  everything  ready  for  hauling 
out  from  the  dock  and  being  towed  to  the  lower 
anchorage  off  Minos  light. 

Our  ship  was  what  is  known  to  the  whaling 
fraternity  as  a  three-boat  ship.  That  is,  she  car- 
ried three  whale  boats  for  chasing  whales, and  a 
spare  one  called  a  gig.  Her  crew  consisted  of 


70  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

Captain,  first,  second,  and  third  mates,  four  boat- 
steerers,  and  about  forty  men,  including,  steward, 
cook,  and  two  boys. 

A  crew  of  this  size  is  enough  to  man  the  boats , 
and  to  leave  hands  on  board  to  keep  the  ship  stand- 
ing off-and-on  when  a  whale  is  sighted ,  and  to  get 
the  boats  out  for  pursuit  as  soon  as  the  mast  head 
hails  the  deck  with  ' '  There  she  blows. " 

We  were  all  ready  now,  the  hatches  were  battened 
down,  the  anchor  catted  and  the  tug  alongside. 
Arriving  at  the  anchorage,  far  below  the  city,  the 
anchor  was  let  go,  and  the  full  sweep  of  ocean  lay 
before  us.  We  were  to  sail  the  next  morning. 


CHAPTER  Vin. 

OFF  TO   SEA. 

THE  ship  was  now  ready  to  sail,  the  Captain  had 
arrived  the  night  before ,  having  been  detained  with 
the  owners.  All  was  bustle  and  confusion,  that  is, 
it  would  have  been  confusion  to  a  landsman,  and 
was  so  to  me  of  course.  To  those  who  had  been  t° 
sea  before  it  was  all  as  plain  and  clear  as  the  skies 
above. 

The  captain,  Mr.  Folsom,  was  a  neat,  clean 
built,  sailorlike  looking  man  who  had  been  in  the 
United  States  Navy,  during  the  war  for  the  Union, 
in  command  of  a  gun  boat,  and,  for  a  whaler,  was 
a  bit  of  a  martinet. 

His  complexion  was  fair,  hair  and  moustache 
light  with  a  shimmer  of  red  when  the  light  struck  it 
aslant,  ears  small  and  fitting  close  to  the  head,  nose 
large  and  full  of  character,  and  cheeks  as  red  as 
the  roses  on  the  face  of  a  blushing  maiden. 

He  seemed  about  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and 
had  been  a  whaling  captain  before  the  war,  this 
being  was  his  first  voyage  in  his  old  business  since  he 
had  stepped  down  from  the  quarter-deck  of  his  late 
command. 

He  said  but  little,  not  being  a  talking  man,  and 
that  little  was  straight  to  the  purpose — everyone 

71 


72 


JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 


understood  just  what  he  meant.  No  one  doubted 
that  as  long  as  a  man  did  his  duty  the  captain 
would  prove  a  very  saint,  but,  any  shrinking  from 
duty,  any  "  sogering,"  as  sailors  call  it,  would  be 
sure  to  call  forth  a  mild  Satan  to  deal  with.  His 
make  up,  and  especially  his  expressive  face  indi- 
cated the  utmost  determination — there  was  a  lurk- 
ing devil  in  his  eye. 

I  was  turned  in  all  night,  having  slipped  into 
my  bunk  in  the  forecastle  along  with  the  watch 
below,  but  of  sleep  I  had  gotten  very  little*  I  was 
awake  when  the  cry  came  down  the  forecastle 
hatch,  "  All  hands  ahoy.  Tumble  up  here  my 
hearties  to  get  under  way."  I  had  a  distinct  recol- 
lection of  having  heard  the  voice  before,  but  not,  as 
I  remembered,  on  board  the  ship. 

My  surprise  was  very  great  when,  I  tumbled  on 
deck,  to  see  the  sailorman  with  whom  I  had  talked 
in  the  shipping  office  where  I  had  signed  articles, 
and  who  proved]  to  be  one  of  the  boat-steerers» 
belonging  to  the  crew  with  the  name  of  Ben  Bosun. 

Whether  this  was  his  real  name,  or  whether  it 
had  been  given  him  as  indicating  his  position  at 
some  time  on  board  a  ship  I  never  knew — anyway, 
that  is  all  the  name  he  ever  answered  to  as  long  as 
I  was  shipmate  with  him  I 

I  bounced  up  on  deck  with  the  other  men, 
although  green  and  helpless,  to  make  a  show  of 
doing  something.  I  was  appalled  at  the  intricate 
entanglement  as  it  seemed  to  me,  of  the  rigging 
and  blocks,  and  yards  and  ropes,  and  I  felt  at  that 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  73 

moment,  that  if  I  were  ordered  aloft  I  should  be 
thrown  into  the  sea  for  very  fear — I  had  not  yet 
began  to  feel  the  least  saltness  in  my  nature. 

Breakfast  was  not  yet  ready,  and  all  hands  were 
standing  about  waiting  for  the  word,  I  do  not 
believe  at  that  time  that  I  could  have  eaten  the 
nicest  piece  of  plum  pudding  that  was  ever  made. 
In  a  short  time  all  hands  were  piped  to  breakfast , 
and  all  fell  to,  except  myself — I  was  too  completely 
sick  of  my  venture  to  eat. 

The  captain,  and  the  first  mate,  Mr.  Ryder,  were 
standing  a  little  aft  the  waist  engaged  in  a  quiet 
conversation,  carried  on  in  a  low  tone,  and  in  an 
earnest  manner.  The  first  mate  had  been  in  the 
Peri  on  her  last  voyage  as  boat-steerer,  his  present 
billet  being  a  promotion.  We  all  supposed  that 
the  two  officers  were  talking  of  the  ship,  her  sailing 
qualities,  and,  of  course,  of  the  crew. 

It  was  mumbled  among  the  men  that  the  young 
captain  was  giving  instructions  and  getting  what 
information  he  needed  concerning  his  new  com- 
mand. However,  as  the  two  separated,  the  cap- 
tain going  aft  and  the  mate  forward,  the  former 
was  heard  to  say,  "  That  is  what  I  expect  of  the 
crew."  I  hope  you  understand  me  Mr.  Ryder. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  mate,  '*  I  understand 
and  will  see  that  your  orders  are  obeyed,"  turning 
half  way  round  to  make  the  answer. 

The  crew  had  its  opinion,  as  crews  always  have, 
whether  the  captain  was  a  sailor  and  ready  to  take 
his  trick  at  the  wheel  if  necessary,  or  to  navigate 


74  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

the  ship  in  case  of  anything  happening  to  throw  the 
whole  responsibility  upon  him. 

But,  after  he  had  shown  himself  on  deck  a  few 
times,  he  was  accepted  by  the  men  as  being  all  right. 
He  was  quite  up  in  seafaring  knowledge,  and  there 
was  a  snap  in  his  manner  that  impressed  the  men 
with  his  entire  ability.  At  the  same  time  there 
was  a  lingering  doubt  in  the  forecastle. 

As  if  to  prove  his  position,  after  breakfast,  eight 
bells,  the  captain  came  out  of  his  cabin,  Mr.  Ryder 
being  in  charge  of  the  deck,  sauntered  along  a  bit 
forward  of  the  main  rigging  and  looked  out  at  the 
weather,  then  aloft,  as  if  to  familiarize  himself  with 
the  look  of  the  barque  above  the  hull,  when  sud- 
denly the  order  rang  out  from  his  lips:  "  Stand  by 
to  get  under  way. "  ' '  Man  the  windlass. " 

"Aye,  aye,  sir/'  answered  the  mate,  repeating 
the  order.  "  Man  the  windlass,  men.  Heave 
away," 

The  men  sprang  to  their  post  and  the  pawls  went 
clinking,  as  the  barrel  of  the  windlass  revolved,  to 
the  music  of  a  ringing  song  from  the  men.  ' '  Heave 
short,"  ordered  the  captain,  looking  at  the  mate, 
who  answered,  "  Anchor  up  and  down  sir." 

"  Sail  loosers  aloft,"  and  in  a  moment  up  the  fore 
and  main  starboard  and  port  rigging,  active  and 
sure  footed  as  monkeys,  went  the  men.  As  soon  as 
they  were  up  aloft  the  captain  yelled  out  "  Lay  out 
and  loose,"  and  the  sails  were  loosed  from  the  furls 
and  let  fly. 

"  Get  under  sail,  Mr.  Ryder." 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  75 

"  Up  with  your  jib  and  flying-jib,  my  livlies," 
sang  out  the  mate,  and  continued,  "  Haul  out  the 
spanker." 

"  Break  away,"  from  the  captain,  and  "  Anchor 
away  sir,"  answered  the  mate. 

"  Sheet  home  fore  and  main  topsails,"  shouted 
the  captain,  and  "  Hoist  fore  and  main  topsails." 

The  ship  had  now  gathered  headway,  when  the 
captain  bawled  out : 

"Hoist  mizzen  staysail."  "Hoist  maintop  mast 
staysail."  Set  fore  and  main  to'-gallantsails. " 

"Secure  your  anchor,  Mr.  Ryder."  The  mate 
responding  from  forward — 

"  All  secure  sir." 

"Drop  the  foresail  and  mainsail,"  roared  the 
captain.  "  Set  main  to'-gallant,  and  mizzen  top- 
mast staysails — Give  her  the  gaff  topsail. "  t  Then 
after  a  short  interval — 

"  Set  mizzen  to'-gallant  staysail."  "  Foretop- 
mast  staysail."  "  Set  fore  and  main  royals." 
"Brace  the  yards  sharp."  "Haul  out  fore  and 
main  bowlines."  "Steady."  "  Keep  her  full-and- 

ky." 

Away  went  the  Peri  with  the  wind  a  little  for- 
ward of  the  waist  over  the  port  side. 

Now,  indeed,  we  were  off,  and  as  the  ship 
gathered  speed,  cleaving  the  water  with  about  a  five- 
knot  breeze  she  hurled  the  sea  under  the  dolphin 
striker  into  lumps  of  blue  wave,  crested  with  a 
creamy  foam.  The  broken  sea  went  rollicking  aft 
along  the  sides  of  the  ship  with  a  murmuring  sound 


76  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

as  if  bent  on  meeting  again  abaft  the  rudder,  and 
away  again  to  meet  some  advancing  prow. 

All  was  bustle  and  excitement.  Ropes  were  hauled 
taut  and  coiled  at  the  feet  of  the  masts  under  the  be- 
laying pins:  boats  were  lashed  more  securely  in  their 
places:  spare  spars  were  lashed  along  amidships,  and 
the  ship  snugged  up  generally.  The  mate  gave  the 
order  to  clear  the  deck  of  useless  lumber  and  stowe 
it  away,  following  with  another  to  wash  down  and 
mop  up  the  decks.  The  watch  on  deck  turned  to 
with  brooms,  buckets  and  mops  to  clean  decks, 
and  get  things  shipshape.  This,  with  the  working 
of  the  ship,  took  until  dark,  when  we  had  supper. 

It  was  my  watch  below  and  for  the  first  time  I 
began  to  feel  that  I  was  a  sailor.  I  was  already  sick 
of  it.  The  forecastle  was  just  like  the  same  den  in 
other  ships,  and  was  by  no  means  the  sweetest  apart- 
ment I  was  ever  in.  My  bunk  was  but  a  sort  of 
shelf  made  of  rough  boards,  and  the  contrast  be- 
tween it  and  the  snug  and  clean  bed  I  had  been  used 
to  in  the  home  of  dear  Miss  Searson  was  pityful. 

I  thought  if  I  could  only  be  transported  to  that, 
I  would  gladly  seek  some  shore  employment  and  be 
supremely  happy — but  it  was  now  too  late,  there 
was  no  back-door  by  which  I  could  escape. 

I  lay  there  listening,  and  could  hear  the  water 
singing  as  it  parted  at  the  bows  and  went  along  the 
sides  of  the  ship,  as  if  distant  chimes  were  singing 
encouragement  to  me — as  if  fairy  cymbals  were 
sounding  under  the  ship's  fore  foot  in  honor  of  the 
beautiful  figurehead,  which  stretched  its  arms  out 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  77 

toward  seas  which  we  had  yet  to  reach.  From 
the  underside  of  the  bowsprit  she  looked  off  into 
unexplored  oceans,  with  a  crown  upon  her  head 
which  may  have  been  stolen  from  Neptune  for  all 
I  knew — or  which,  perhaps,  he  had  been  despoiled 
of  by  the  sprite  at  our  bows,  who  wore  it  so  jauntily , 
in  some  former  liaison  down  deep  amid  the  coral 
caves  of  ocean. 

Then  I  remembered  having  read  of  Neptune,  the 
God  of  Ocean.  Of  how  the  dolphin  was  the 
right-hand  minister  of  that  hoary  old  sea-god:  of  how 
the  dolphin  in  his  self-importance,  aired  his  position 
among  the  denizens  of  the  vasty  deep ,  in  and  out  of 
coral  grottoes,  calling  on  a  mermaid  here,  visiting 
the  royal  domain  there,  to  see  if  the  juicy  stalks  of 
sea  gardens  were  growing  succulent  enough  to  tempt 
the  appetite  of  monstrous  court  consumers:  anon, 
overlooking  the  royal  oyster-beds  to  ascertain  if  they 
were  more  prolific  than  usual  of  pearls ,  that  the 
custom-house  might  not  be  defrauded  and  the  royal 
exchequer  suffer,  filling  in  the  time  inspecting 
the  wrecks  of  vessels,  and  counting  dead  men's 
bones. 

Of  how  the  dolphin  was,  before  men  took  to 
weaving  deep-sea  nets  and  pickling  and  preserving 
the  finny  tribes,  a  benefactor  of  mankind,  and  sent 
on  errands  of  business ,  diplomacy  and  mercy:  of  how 
it  visited  sea-shores  and  bathing-beaches,  where  it 
listened  to  the  stale  vows  of  sea-beach  lovers,  and 
strains  of  music  which  came  floating  from  summer 
resort  dancing-pavilions:  of  how  Neptune  sent  this 


78  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

dispatch-boy,  the  dolphin,  to  assist  a  vessel  in  dis- 
tress: of  how  the  ship  being  a  total  wreck,  the  dol- 
phin carried  on  its  broad  and  ample  back,  sailor 
after  sailor,  to  the  shore:  of  how  a  monkey,  a  pet  of 
one  of  the  crew,  instigated  by  a  desire  to  save  its 
own  life ,  clambered  down  from  the  wet  and  slippery 
deck  and  seated  itself  upon  the  dolphin's  back:  of 
how  the  ocean-carrier,  started  with  humane  intent 
toward  the  shore,  but,  somehow,  on  the  way,  the 
fish-rescuer  was  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  pass- 
enger was  without  shoes  or  clothing,  and  that  it 
uttered  no  exclamation  of  fright,  that  the  toes  were 
clinging  far  too  close,  and  were  far  too  sharp  for 
human  toes:  of  how  the  dolphin  turned  to  look  at  its 
freight:  of  how  it  discovered  a  monkey  and  not  a 
man,  and  of  how  the  dumb  passenger  was  incon- 
tinently tumbled  into  the  sea  and  drowned. 

Then  it  occurred  to  me  that  there  was  a  moral  in 
this:  that  one  should  not  attempt  to  pass  ones  self 
off  for  what  one  is  not.  And  here  was  I  passing 
myself  off  for  a  sailor,  when  I  was  only  a  land-lub- 
ber and  sea-sick  at  that. 

These  reflections  were  broken  into  by  seeing  some 
one  coming  down  the  forecastle  companionway. 
When  the  shadow  was  conpletely  developed  to  my 
eyes  and  senses,  I  observed  that  it  was  the  ship's 
carpenter,  of  whom  I  shall  have  to  speak,  at  some 
future  time.  "What  ails  ye,  my  lad,"  he  com- 
menced in  almost  a  womans'  voice.  ' '  Air  ye  sea- 
sick?" 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  79 

'«  Yes.  "  I  replied  surlily,  "and  heart  sick  and 
every  other  sick.  " 

"  Well,  don't  ye  never  mind  it,  my  lad,  I  was  that 
ere  same  way  when  I  just  left  home,  but  I'm  got 
used  to  it  now.  " 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  said  I,  in  a  contemptuous 
tone.  ' '  You  look  as  if  you  might  get  used  to  any- 
thing. " 

I  had  no  sooner  spoken  these  harsh  words  than  I 
would  have  given  worlds  to  have  been  able  to  recall 
them — I  bit  my  tongue  in  vexation. 

However,  he  did  not  seem  to  take  offense  at  it, 
but  replied  in  that  same  gentle  voice:  "  Aye," 
and  hesitating  for  a  moment,  "  I'm  rough  lookin', 
ain't  I?  But  I  ain't  to  blame.  This  world's  been 
hard  on  me,  an  Fain't  desarved  it.  "  And  turning 
away,  disappeared  up  the  companion  ladder. 

Sick  as  I  was  before  of  the  sea,  I  was  in  a  much 
worse  humor  with  myself,  for  being  so  rude  and  in- 
sulting to  a  fellow  creature,  and  a  shipmate,  who 
evidently  wanted  to  be  friendly  with  me. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BOXING  THE  COMPASS. 

WE  had  now  been  out  from  Boston  about  two 
months,  and  had  experienced  various  changes  and 
vicissitudes  of  weather — calms,  light  winds,  half- 
gales  and  rain-storms;  but,  as  yet,  not  a  storm  of 
magnitude  enough  to  seriously  disturb  the  working 
of  the  ship. 

The  old  craft  was  lumbering  along  with  all  the 
speed  there  was  in  her  aged  ribs.  The  wind  had 
changed  and  was  coming  steadily  over  the  star- 
board quarter,  the  ship  carry  ing  all  sail  except  the 
main  course,  which  was  hauled  up  so  that  the  fore- 
sail might  keep  full.  We  were  cleaving  the  water 
with  a  seven-knot  breeze,  or  thereabout,  as  the  law- 
yers say. 

The  men  were  scattered  all  over  the  deck,  their 
pants  rolled  up  to  their  knees ,  bare-footed  and  bare- 
legged, armed  with  mops,  squillgees  and  brooms, 
cleaning  up  the  decks  man-of-war  fashion.  This 
was  one  of  the  pet  means  of  our  captain  for  keep- 
ing the  men  employed,  and,  as  the  crew  thought, 
with  a  little  too  much  persistency. 

The  decks  were  holy-stoned  twice  a  week  and 
washed  down  every  morning  as  regularly  as  the 
sun  showed  the  streakings  of  day  in  the  east.  The 

80 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  81 

captain  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  war  vessel,  and  ordered  everything  done 
according  to  his  experience  acquired  in  the  Navy. 
Whatever  could  be  done  in  that  way  he  so  ordered, 
which  caused  a  great  deal  of  good-natured  grum- 
bling among  the  men. 

It  was  not  possible ,  of  course ,  to  have  things  on 
board  a  whaler,  especially  on  deck,  look  as  such 
things  must  appear  on  board  a  man-of-war  vessel. 
All  was  quite  different  on- this  old  tub  of  a  whaler, 
which  annoyed  the  captain  very  much.  He  seemed 
half  angry  about  it  and  was  constantly  lecturing 
the  mate  in  regard  to  it. 

The  sails  were  not  so  white  and  bird-wing-like, 
there  was  no  uniformity  of  appearance  among  the 
men,  their  apparel  looking  as  though  it  had  been 
gathered  up  from  a  hospital  where  all  the  patients 
had  died  simultaneously.  The  sails  were  discolored 
and  mended  with  other  colored  canvas,  the  deck 
was  lumbered  up  with  the  trying-out  kettle  and 
spare  spars;  there  was  a  woeful  lack  of  that  trim, 
taut  and  saucy  appearance  of  an  United  States 
war  ship;  and  the  captain,  his  soul  filled  with 
unsatisfied  discipline,  groaned  under  it. 

Sailors  on  whaling  ships  are  rarely  hurried  when 
at  sea,  except  in  stormy  weather,  or  when  in  pur- 
suit of  a  whale.  It  is  an  easy-going  life,  except  as 
above  stated,  and  the  men  were  not  in  lov.e  with 
such  every  day  hurry.  They  uttered  complaints  to 
each  other  that  they  had  no  time  to  themselves. 
(6) 


82  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

There  was  not  lolling  enough  to  please  them,  and 
they  grumbled. 

However,  sailors  are  chronic  grumblers,  and  it  is 
my  firm  belief,  after  many  years  experience  as  man 
and  master,  that  if  the  angel  Gabriel  should  descend 
to  the  deck  of  a  ship  and  offer  Jack  the  best  berth 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  Grace ,  he  would 
growl  because  he  could  not  have  two  berths. 

I  did  not  share  in  this  feeling  for  the  reason  that 
my  aim  was  the  command  of  a  ship,  and  anything 
that  I  was  ordered  to  do,  which  did  not  cause  me  to 
lose  my  self-respect  and  feelings  of  manhood,  was 
in  my  line,  and  I  undertook  it  cheerfully,  doing  it 
with  all  my  will ,  and  in  the  best  way  possible  for 
the  amount  of  knowledge  I  had.  This,  then,  in  my 
mind  was  the  shortest  road  to  promotion — now,  I 
am  certain  of  it. 

I  had  not  yet  been  given  any  duty  requiring 
much  seamanship,  but  merely  what  could  be  called 
deck  work.  I  was  expecting  any  day  as  the  ship 
went  bowling  along  further  away  from  home,  that 
I  should  be  sent  aloft.  Although  I  more  than  half 
wished  for  it  in  order  to  test  myself,  it  was  some 
time  before  this  happened  to  me.  One  day,  my 
watch  on  deck,  I  was  standing  along  side  Tom 
Krekit,  whose  trick  it  was  at  the  wheel,  who  knew 
the  compass  as  well  as  a  mathematician  knows  the 
multiplication  table. 

Tom  was  trying  to  teach  me  how  to  steer  and 
how  to  box  the  compass.  He  explained  how  it 
worked,  the  meaning  of  the  various  points  marked 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  83 

on  the  compass  card,  and  all  that.  I  could  not 
understand,  no  matter  how  much  he  explained  it. 
In  fact,  the  more  he  explained  the  more  incompre- 
heasible  it  became— my  brain  seemed  to  be  compass 
proof.  I  do  not  believe  it  was  the  man's  want  of 
capacity  to  impart  what  he  knew,  but  my  stolid 
want  of  comprehension  on  that  point. 

Tom  Krekit  was  a  patient  man,  who  seemed  to 
have  taken  a  great  fancy  to  me,  and,  after  squirt- 
ing a  gill,  more  or  less,  of  tobacco  juice  over  the 
taffrail,  would  return  to  the  charge  and  talk,  while 
keeping  his  eyes  alternately  upon  the  sails  and  on 
the  compass,  after  this  fashion: 

"  Why,  my  lad,"  he  would  say  in  his  gruff  voice, 
* '  it's  as  easy  as  tellin'  what's  o'clock  by  ther  face  o' 
a  watch." 

"  Yes,  I  know  it  is,  Tom,  to  you,  who  have  said 
it  more  times  than  you  ever  said  your  prayers,  but 
I  don't  understand  it  at  all.  Perhaps,  some  day  I 
may  be  able  to  box  it  with  any  man  on  the  ship." 

"  O'  course  ye  will,  cause  it's  so  easy,"  said  he, 
and  in  a  half  whisper  which  was  louder  than  his 
full  voice,  "  an'  don't  give  up,  my  lad,  cause  why, 
cause  111  larn  it  to  ye.  Come  ter  this  here  wheel 
when  it's  my  trick  an'  try  it  agin." 

I  promised  him  I  would  and  was  going  to  thank 
him  for  the  interest  he  was  taking  in  me,  when  Mr. 
Ryder,  the  first  mate,  came  up,  looked  into  the 
binnacle-box,  then  aloft  at  the  upper  sails,  the 
leeches  of  which  were  trembling  a  little,  saying: 


84  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

' '  Where  are  ye  steering  to,  mv  man.  You're  two 
points  off." 

I  could  see  at  once  from  the  change  in  Tom's  face 
that  he  felt  humiliated  in  the  presence  of  the  boy 
to  whom  but  a  few  seconds  before  he  had  been  an 
oracle.     It  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  going  to  be 
a  jaw  right  there  at  the  wheel. 

Discipline  is  not  quite  so  rank  on  board  of  a 
whaler  as  on  board  a  regular  trading  merchant- 
man, and  often  the  men  "  talk  back  "  in  a  mild  sort 
of  a  way.  Neither  the  mate  nor  Tom  said  any- 
thing for  a  second  or  two.  Tom  was  the  first  to 
speak,  saying: 

II  I  knows  how  to  steer,  sir.     I  dessay  I  steered 
a  craft  long  afore  ye  wus  launched  inter  this  here 
world  o'  ships  and  things. " 

' *  What's  that  ?"  quickly  asked  the  mate,  look- 
ing angrily  at  the  man,  "  what's  that  you  say  ? " 

"  I  ses,  Mr.  Ryder,"  so  respectfully  as  to  mollify 
the  mate,  "  I  ses,  as  how  I  stood  at  the  wheel  afore 
ye  wus  borned.  An'  I  'low  as  I  means  no  thin' 
onrespecful,  but  I  differs  wi'  ye  about  steerin'  an' 
all  thet.  I  'low  now,  thet  I  kin  box  the  compass 
better  nor  you  kin  box  the  Lord's  Prayer,  an'  leave 
this  here  yungster  to  dercide  atwixt  us. " 

The  mate  saw  the  humor  of  the  thing  at  once, 
and  agreed,  saying  to  me: 

"  Quickstep,  you  can  decide." 

This  frightened  me.  .  I  knew  the  prayer  better 
almost  than  I  knew  my  own  name;  but  the  com- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  85 

pass,  that  was  where  my  deficiency  lay,  and,  look- 
ing at  Mr.  Ryder,  I  said: 

' '  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me ,  sir.  I  am  perfectly 
competent  to  decide  on  the  prayer,  but  on  the  com- 
pass, why,  I  haven't  yet  learned  to  read  it." 

"  Well,"  inquired  the  mate,  becoming  more  and 
more  interested,  "  how  can  the  thing  be  decided  ?" 

I  wanted  to  see  the  fun  and  promoted  it  all  I 
could,  addressing  Tom,  saying: 

"  I'll  tell  you  what,  Torn.  I'll  decide  as  to  the 
prayer,  and  let  Mr.  Ryder  judge  whether  you  box 
the  compass  ship-shape." 

"  I'll  stand  by  Mr.  Ryder  on  my  readin'  o'  the 
compass,"  agreed  Tom. 

All  this  time  we  were  standing  in  a  bunch  at  the 
wheel,  our  conversation  being  in  a  subdued  tone 
which  could  not  have  been  heard  ten  steps  away. 
Had  it  been  known  on  deck  and  in  the  forecastle 
that  this  sort  of  a  contest  was  going  on,  the  watch 
below  and  the  men  on  deck  would  have  been  mak- 
ing themselves  busy  at  something  near  the  wheel. 

"All  right,"  said  the  mate,  "who  shall  com- 
mence? You,  Tom?" 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,  I'm  agreed,"  and  Tom  com- 
menced giving  the  points,  half  and  quarter  points, 
deliberately,  but  without  hesitation,  ending  with 
' '  How's  that  fur  binnacle  edicashun  ? " 

"  As  well  as  ever  I  heard  it  read,"  answered  Mr. 
Ryder,  "  sailor-like  and  prompt." 

"  Mr.  Ryder,"  I  inquired,  "  could  anyone  do  it 
better?" 


86  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"  No,"  answered  the  mate,  "  it's  as  good  as  I  can 
doit." 

Tom  looked  at  me  with  a  wink  of  triumph,  a 
satisfied  smile  spreading  his  thick  lips  and  disclos- 
ing a  set  of  large  teeth,  once  white,  doubtless,  but 
now  stained  with  years  of  constant  tobacco  chewing. 

As  there  seemed  to  be  considerable  equality,  for 
the  time,  just  there  at  the  wheel,  I  spoke  up,  saying: 

"Now,  Mr.  Ryder,  it's  your  turn,  and  please 
remember  that  those  are  sacred  words  you  are  going 
to  utter." 

The  mate  made  no  reply,  looked  serious  as  if  he 
felt  that  this  part  of  the  contest  must  have  no  levity 
attached  to  it,  and  commenced  saying  that  beautiful 
prayer,  known,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  to  every  language 
in  the  world,  to  the  ignorant  as  well  as  to  the  edu- 
cated. 

When  he  had  finished,  it  having  been  said  in  a 
reverent  tone,  full  of  the  rude  pathos  of  a  sailor, 
Tom  anxiously  enquired: 

"  Now,  my  lad,  who  boxed  his  part  the  best  ? " 

"  Mr.  Ryder,"  I  responded,  "  says  that  your  box- 
ing of  the  compass  was  as  perfect  as  ever  seaman 
did  it." 

"  Aye,  aye,  my  lad,  an'  how'd  Mr.  Ryder  box  the 
prayer  ? " 

"  Perfectly,"  I  answered,  "  I  never  heard  it  said 
better." 

"  I  'spose  as  how  he  done  it  right,  'cause  I  'spose 
he's  a  Christian  man.  Then,  ye  dercide  thet  we're 
eq'al." 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  87 

"  Yes,  that's  it,"  I  answered,  very  much  relieved. 

"  Awast  there,  shipmate,"  said  Tom,  emptying 
his  mouth  over  the  taffrail  again  and  putting  a 
fresh  supply  of  tobacco  into  his  cavern  of  a  mouth, 
"  I  ain't  done  yit,"  and  commenced  boxing  the 
compass  backwards,  and  finishing,  demanded: 

"  Now,  let's  hear  Mr.  Ryder  box  that  ther  prayer 
backwards." 

The  mate  owned  up  that  he  couldn't  do  it,  and 
walked  forward  with  a  good-natured  smile  playing 
about  his  lips.  Mr.  Ryder  never  mentioned  the 
matter  again,  nor  ever  looked  as  if  a  joke  had 
passed  between  us,  and  so  equality  was  at  an  end. 

After  the  mate  had  gone  forward,  Tom  spattered 
the  taffrail  again  with  the  contents  of  his  mouth, 
and  turned  to  me,  saying: 

"  Ye  see,  Johnnie,  ther  perfesh'un  uv  a  seaman 
an'  ther  perfesh'un  uv  prayin'  is  two  defr'nt  things. 
Ryder  'ud  get  the  ship  more  pints  out  en  her  course 
a  steerin'  by  that  ther  prayer,  nor  he  thot  I  wus 
goin'  off  wi'  the  compass. " 

Just  as  Tom  said  this,  and  was  preparing  to  let 
off  some  of  his  sea  philosophy,  the  mast  head  hailed 
the  deck  with: 

"Sail  ho!" 

"  Where  away?"  asked  the  mate. 

"  On  the  port  quarter,  sir." 

' '  What  does  she  look  like  ? "  turning  to  one  of  the 
boys  and  ordering  him  to  call  the  captain. 

"  Can't  make  her  out,  sir;  she's  hull  down,  but 


88  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

the  speck  I  see  looks  like  the  skysails  of  a  large 
ship." 

"Well,  keep  a  look  out." 

"Aye,  aye,  sir." 

The  captain  came  out  on  deck  with  his  binocular 
and  walked  up  to  the  mate.  Both  took  a  squint  at 
the  speck  on  the  horizon,  discussing  what  she 
might  be.  The  men  gathered  in  the  port,  midships, 
straining  their  eyes  to  see  what  the  masthead  had 
sighted,  but  nothing  could  be  seen  with  the  naked 
eye  from  the  deck.  The  lookout  hailed  again  with: 

"  She  shows  skysails  and  royals,  sir.  She's 
comin'  right  after  us,  t'  won't  be  long  afore  she'll 
overhaul  us,  if  this  wind  holds." 

"  She's  a  big  'un,  whatever  she  be,"  said  Ben,  as 
though  his  opinion  had  been  asked. 

"  Yes,  I  judge  so,"  answered  the  captain.  "  She 
shows  skysails  and  her  upper  to'-gallantsails  are  fast 
appearing." 

•  "I'm  thinkin'  she's  an  American  trader,"  ven- 
tured the  mate. 

"She  maybe,"  replied  the  captain;  "  any  wa}^, 
she'll  be  overhauling  us  before  sundown.  From  the 
look  of  her  upper  canvas  she's  one  of  those  big 
down-easters,  carrying  four  masts.  Captain  Folsom 
started  to  walk,  but  on  a  sudden,  as  if  some  thought 
had  occurred  to  him,  he  turned  and  continued  pac- 
ing from  aft  to  the  windlass  and  back  again, 
often  eyeing  the  approaching  vessel  through  his 
glass. 

The  coming  ship   had  speeded  along  so  much 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  89 

faster  than  we  had  any  reason  to  expect  that  the 
sails  lifted  out  of  the  horizon  one  after  the  other, 
showing  courses  down  to  the  rail,  the  great  hull 
looming  up  and  forming  one  of  the  grandest  sights 
ever  witnessed  on  the  ocean.  She  was  under  a 
press  of  canvas  as  white  and  spotless  as  the  linen 
of  a  dainty  woman  fresh  from  the  laundry.  She 
came  sweeping  nearer  to  us,  breaking  the  blue  sea 
into  silvery  froth  tinged  with  the  shadows  of  the 
falling  night. 

The  vessel  proved  to  be  a  square-rigged  four- 
master,  carrying  courses,  lower  and  upper  topsails, 
two  to'-gallantsails,  royals  and  skysails;  flying  jib, 
jib,  and  foretopmast  staysail.  With  the  swing  of 
a  giant  she  passed  us,  with  the  wind  right  over  the 
quarter  and  every  yard  of  canvas  full  of  a  driving 
breeze,  the  heavy  bows  breasting  the  waves  with  a 
heave  that  sent  the  sea  flying  up  over  the  to'-gallant 
forecastle. 

She  seemed  from  our  deck  to  be  about  three 
thousand  tons,  with  a  sweep  of  deck  of  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  the  break  of  the  poop 
reaching  near  about  half  way  forward  from  taffrail 
to  knight  heads.  On  the  forward  house  were  lashed 
three  boats  ready  for  any  emergency.  She  had  a 
to'-gallant  fok'sle,  the  masts  raked  pretty  well  aft, 
with  jibboom,  and  staysailboom  at  an  upward 
angle;  the  beam  somewhere  about  sixty  feet,  and 
depth  of  hold — well,  who  could  guess  without 
fathoming  it  ? 
A  guess  was  made  as  to  her  tonnage,  and  the  cap- 


90  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

tain  and  mate  fixed  it  at  about  three  thousand  tons, 
with  a  spread  of  canvas  that  would  have  taken  all 
the  mills  of  fifty  years  ago  to  manufacture.  She 
carried  no  figure  head,  but  a  simple  scroll  under  the 
bowsprit  American  fashion.  As  she  swept  past  us 
we  observed  the  flutter  of  petticoats  on  the  poop- 
deck,  supposably  the  captain's  wife  and  a  female 
passenger.  However,  that  was  no  affair  of  ours. 

To  see  such  an  immense  ship  as  was  now  leading 
us,  under  a  full  spread  of  canvass,  is  to  witness  the 
poetry  of  motion — a  motion  fit  to  inspire  the  poet 
and  the  painter.  Shore  people  can  never  enjoy  the 
spectacle  unless  they  go  to  sea,  and  sea-farers  rarely 
see  their  own  ship  unless  some  accident  happens  and 
a  part  of  the  crew  is  obliged  to  go  off  in  boats  dis- 
tance enough  to  do  so.  When  such  a  sight  is  seen, 
by  either  seamen  or  landsmen,  it  is  with  a  kind  of 
awe,  as  it  comes  to  their  vision  overtopping  the  or- 
dinary-sized sailing  craft. 

It  was  a  little  before  sundown  when  she  went 
sweeping  past,  as  though  we  were  at  anchor,  like 
the  queen  of  the  universe  on  a  voyage  to  claim  the 
confines  of  earth.  When  she  was  about  abreast  of 
us  the  captain  ordered  the  mate  to  speak  her.  Mr. 
Kyder  jumped  into  the  main  rigging  and  hailed — 
"  Ship  ahoy ! "  in  stentorian  tones,  and  there  came 
back  across  the  mingled  blue  and  foam  of  the  riot- 
ing sea. 

"Ahoy,  what  ship  is  that  ? " 

"The  Peri,  whaler,  bound  for  Gape  de  Verde 
Islands ;  what  ship  is  that  ? " 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  91 

"  Susquehanna,  bound  round  Cape  Horn  for  San 
Francisco. " 

And  that  immense  hull  dashed  away  from  us, 
dressed  in  robes  as  white  as  woman's  purity,  over 
seas  more  boundless  than  their  unfathomed  depths, 
more  limitless  than  the  mind  of  man  can  conceive. 

With  the  stars  and  stripes  flying  from  the  jigger 
gaff  the  Susquehanna  passed  away  from  us,  under 
the  canopy  of  heaven  studded  with  stars,  on  her 
way  to  the  Pacific,  her  prow  lashing  the  ocean  into 
blue  and  silver,  and  sending  along  her  copper  glow- 
ing sides  the  parted  waters,  which  fade  out  away 
aft  into  threads  of  lace-like  texture.  The  giant 
ship  glides  like  a  phantom  from  twilight  into  falling 
shadows,  her  white  wings  fanning  her  into  dark- 
ness where  she  disappeared  in  a  haze  of  canvas  and 
evening  twilight. 


CHAPTER  X. 

I  GET  ACQUAINTED  WITH  THE  CARPENTER. 

AMONG  sailors  of  every  nation  and  of  every  age, 
living,  as  they  do,  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  up- 
on the  ocean,  there  is  a  mysterious  prompting  to 
superstition,  which  comes  to  them,  caused  by 
sounds  and  appearances,  that  they  are  unable,  with 
their  limited  understandings,  to  account  for. 

Their  modes  of  thought  are  necessarily  narrow, 
and  whatever  they  cannot  readily  comprehend  is  en- 
dowed with  supernatural  attributes.  It  is  fair  to 
suppose  that  every  one  of  them  had  a  loving  mother 
who  watched  over  their  infancy  and  boyhood;  and 
yet  many  of  them  are  lower  than  the  fourfooted 
animals  to  which  man  is  supposed  to  be  superior. 

Cut  off  from  social  contact  with  their  fellow-crea- 
tures, learning  the  lesson  of  life  within  the  narrow 
limit  of  a  ship's  decks,  with  no  education  except 
what  they  got  at  a  mother's  knee,  exposed  to  rough 
treatment,  bad  fare,  and  ever  present  danger,  many 
of  them  are  daring  and  wicked  enough  to  cut  a 
throat  or  scuttle  a  ship,  and  yet,  inexperienced 
enough  to  a  degree  that  impels  them  to  put  implicit, 
almost  childlike  faith  in  all  the  signs  and  omens 
which  are  a  part  of  every  ship  after  her  first  voyage. 

They  believe  in  demons  of  the  deep  and  all  those 
92 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  93 

superstitions  which  are  among  the  contents  of  every 
seaman's  chest,  and  which,  when  he  ships  for  a 
cruise  in  another  vessel,  he  takes  with  him,  as  a 
part  of  the  lore  to  be  exchanged  with  his  brother 
tar,  adding  to  their  stock  what  he  has  to  contribute, 
and  receiving  from  them  what  he  has  not  yet  learned , 
all  of  which  is  absorbed  as  certainly  as  a  drowning 
man  grasps  whatever  is  within  his  reach. 

Jack's  imagination,  fed  on  such  stuff  as  he  finds 
floating  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  forecastle,  creates 
kingdoms  beneath  the  blue  and  restless  waves,  and 
whether  sailing  over  the  vast  expanse  of  waters  in 
search  of  adventure,  conquest  or  plunder,  it  is  the 
same. 

Is  it  any  wonder,  that  with  his  scant  vocabulary, 
fashioned  after  the  details  of  his  every-day  existence , 
the  forecastleman  should  believe  what  no  one  has 
taken  the  trouble  to  teach  him  the  fallacy  of:  is  it 
any  wonder ,  that ,  standing  amid  the  angry  elements , 
looking  out  into  the  storm  and  darkness  obscuring 
the  billowy  waste,  he  should  conjure  up  evil  spirits 
and  intangible  terrors  in  the  shape  of  monsters, 
gods  of  vengeance,  and  syrens  luring  ships  and  mar- 
iners upon  unseen  rocks  to  destruction? 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  Jack  believes  in  Davy  Jones , 
the  fiend  who  owns  the  evil  spirits  inhabiting  the 
vasty  deep,  who  lets  loose  death  and  destruction, 
riding  upon  the  storm  and  sweeping  good  and  bad 
alike,  into  the  abyss  of  waters? 

Is  it  any  wonder,  that  not  understanding  it,  he  is 
inspired  with  an  awe  not  springing  from  his  religion, 


04  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

as  he  walks  his  solemn  watch  in  the  dead  of  night, 
the  moon  tipping  the  wavelets  with  silver  radiance: 
as  he  looks  out  watching  the  waves  when  they 
come  dashing  against  the  prow,  leaving  it  crested 
with  mingled  threads  of  foam  and  spray,  flattening 
out  in  a  wake  of  delicate  tracery -lace,  woven  by 
unseen  spirits  from  the  depth  of  the  ocean? 

Is  it  any  wonder,  that  he  hugs  superstition  to 
his  bosom  when  he  experiences  storm  and  tempest , 
shattered  masts  and  ribboned  sails,  with  but  a  plank 
between  himself  and  Davy  Jones'  Locker,  and  sees 
successions  of  mountainous  waves  sweeping  the 
decks,  and  roaring  messages  of  disaster,  shipwreck 
and  death? 

The  sailorman  many  not  have  an  aesthetic  soul, 
but  from  the  very  loneliness  of  his  life,  he  is  filled 
with  poetic  awe  which  his  limited  vocabulary  can- 
not give  expression  to.  He  hears  the  light  breeze 
wafting  its  music  over  the  decks  and  through  the 
ropes,  stirring  the  sails  with  magic  touch.  White 
rippling  waves  speed  along  the  sides  of  the  ship, 
whispering  tales  of  fairy  islands,  of  coral  groves,  of 
sea  gardens  with  waving  palms  of  ocean  growth, 
plants  of  variegated  hue,  monsters  of  wicked  mien, 
arches  of  alabaster  purity,  such  as  architect  never 
builded,  human  eye  never  beheld,  nor  human  intel- 
lect ever  comprehended. 

The  crew  of  a  ship,  picked  up  here  and  there  and 
everywhere,  as  it  is,  forms  one  of  the  most  curious 
studies  imaginable.  The  men  comprising  the  crew 
of  the  Peri  was  no  exception  to  the  rule — there  were 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  •>•"> 

good  and  bad:  men  whose  better  instincts  had  been 
eradicated  by  the  rigors  of  sea  life:  men  whose  early 
life  had  been  spent  with  loving  companions  in  the 
domestic  circle,  and  who  wanted  but  half  a  chance 
to  return  to  the  sweet  precepts  of  home,  and  men 
who  had  resigned  themselves  into  the  toils  of  the 
devil,  and  to  whom  hope  was  an  unknown  word. 

Ned  Ricks  was  the  man  who  came  into  the  fore- 
castle and  stood  at  my  bunk  when  I  was  disconso- 
late. He  was  a  curious  physical  compound,  and 
seemed  to  have  been  made  up  of  odds  and  ends,  as 
it  \vere,  all  of  which  gave  him  not  only  an  incon- 
gruous look  but  a  sinister  one. 

He  stood  about  five  feet  eight  inches,  not  power- 
fully made,  but  sinewy  and  strong  as  a  lion,  which 
strength,  however,  was  never  exerted  except  in  the 
line  of  his  duty.  His  language  was  about  the  same 
as  that  of  other  sailors,  except,  that  he  never  spiced 
it  with  profanity,  he  having  had  otherwise  no  ad- 
vantages of  education  over  his  fellows. 

I  am  going  to  be  very  precise  about  his  personal 
appearance,  because,  from  the  time  I  joined  the 
ship  he  evidenced  a  friendship  for  me,  determining 
to  be  my  friend,  even  after  I  had 'on  several  oc- 
casions almost  driven  him  from  me. 

As  I  said,  he  stood  about  five  feet  eight,  and  one 
leg  was  something  longer  than  the  other,  the  long- 
est one  bowing  out  from  the  short  one  as  a  sort  of 
compensatio^  in  locomotion;  he  had  but  one  eye, 
the  other  he  had  lost  in  some  way  not  discreditable 
to  himself,  as  he  told  me;  his  hair  was  red,  or  had 


?  ?,   .    ':.  Y 


96  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

been  before  it  came  out,  and  what  was  left  of  it 
formed  a  ring  extending  from  one  ear  to  the  other, 
leaving  the  entire  top  part  of  his  head  as  smooth 
and  polished  as  a  mirror. 

His  skin  had  been  fair,  as  the  color  of  his  hair 
indicated,  but  it  was  so  covered  with  great  black 
freckles,  and  so  tanned  and  weatherbeaten  as  to  be 
about  the  color  of  seasoned  mahogany.  From  his 
appearance  the  crew,  to  a  man,  had  taken  a  violent 
dislike  to  him,  and,  in  a  short  time  after  the  ship's 
company  was  mustered  he  was  shunned — merely  on 
account  of  his  untoward  appearance.  Some  one  of 
the  men,  with  that  aptitude  that  boys  and  sailors 
have  for  finding  one's  weak  spot,  had  nicknamed 
him  Old  Baldy. 

Ned  Ricks  was  a  sensitive  man  for  one  whose  life 
had  been  passed  in  the  rough-and-tumble  chances 
of  the  forecastle.  He  knew  he  was  not  like  other 
people,  that  he  was  ill-favored,  about  half  made  up, 
and,  consequently,  he  was  reserved,  shy,  keeping 
himself  aloof  from  his  fellows  as  much  as  possible. 
There  was  something  about  his  whole  appearance, 
even  to  me,  uncanny. 

His  baldness  was  peculiar.  It  was  not  so  much 
that  he  was  bald,  as  that  when  his  head  was  un- 
covered, which  happened  only  when  he  turned  into 
his  bunk,  or  when  a  sudden  gust  unceremoniously 
lifted  his  hat  from  his  head,  his  face  had,  somehow, 
the  appearance  of  a  corpse  waiting  to  be  placed 
upon  a  grating  and  launched  overboard. 

Besides  all  this,  if  the  mast  cracked,  as  it  felt  the 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  97 

weight  of  the  wind  and  sails,  it  was  an  omen.  If  St. 
Elmo's  fire  appeared  on  the  yardarms,  or  trucks,  it 
was  an  omen,  and  so  on  through  all  the  infinitude 
of  sights  and  sounds  known  to  sailors  who  believe 
in  such  things. 

Despite  all  these  drawbacks,  as  1  became  well  ac- 
quainted with  him,  he  was  to  me  honest-hearted, 
upright,  sincere,  sensible  and  honorable;  altogether 
a  man  to  make  ones  heart  rejoice  to  have  for  a 
friend. 

One  very  singular  thing,  which  I  have  hitherto 
omitted,  considering  his  general  deformity,  the 
rough  life  he  had  lived,  the  gales  and  hard  usage  he 
had  gone  through,  was,  that  his  voice  was  low  and 
sweet,  having  somewhat  the  tremulousness  of  a 
woman's. 

Since  the  time  he  came  down  into  the  forecastle, 
when  I  was  discouraged  and  sick  of  life ,  I  had 
never  ceased  to  regret  that  I  had  been  so  uncivil 
and  unmanly  to  him.  Having  completely  recovered 
from  the  cowardly  spell  which  actuated  me  at  that 
time,  I  had  resolved  to  stand  up  like  a  man  to  the 
life  I  had  chosen.  Since  that  resolve  I  had  been 
taking  an  intense  interest  in  the  working  of  the 
ship,  and  in  everything  pertaining  to  seamanship. 
As  yet  I  had  not  been  put  to  do  anything  very 
hazardous: 

One  morning,  about  four  bells,  A.  M. ,  I  was  stand- 
ing a  little  aft  of  the  main  rigging  and  looking  out 
over  the  port  quarter  into  a  darkness  so  dense  that 
(7) 


98  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

it  completely  enveloped  the  ship.  The  Peri  was 
leaving  a  streak  of  fire  in  her  wake;  nothing  was 
visible  in  the  heavens  except  the  stars,  so  far  dis- 
tant as  to  seem  like  tracings  of  planished  silver 
worked  upon  a  ground  of  celestial  blue. 

Ned  and  I  were  in  the  same  watch,  and  of  course 
both  on  deck.  I  saw  him  last,  up  forward,  sitting  on 
the  windlass  as  motionless  as  a  statue.  We  were 
booming  along,  with  a  good  stiff  breeze  coming  over 
the  starboard  quarter,  and  with  everything  braced 
taut  to  port. 

Not  a  sound  could  be  heard  save  the  cat-like 
tread  of  the  watch,  the  creak  of  the  wheel  as  the 
steersman  turned  the  spokes  a  port  or  a  starboard; 
the  chafing  and  straining  of  the  rigging,  the  rattle 
of  a  block,  the  rippling  sound  of  a  slack  rope  play- 
ing against  a  spar,  and  the  washing  sound  of  the 
sea  as  the  speed  of  the  vessel  tumbled  it  into  froth 
and  bubbles. 

I  heard  the  sound  of  bare  feet  pattering  lightly 
on  the  deck,  and,  turning,  met  Ricks  square  in  the 
face.  He  accosted  me  in  his  gentle  voice. 

"  How  aire  ye  feelin',  Quickstep,  I  hope  ye  're  a 
feelin'  better  nor  when  I  see  ye  in  the  fok'sle  ? " 

"  Yes,  thanks,  Ned,  I  am  in  a  better  mood,  and 
determined  not  to  get  in  the  dumps  again.  I  am 
very  sorry  that  I  treated  you  so  badly  when  you 
came  to  my  bunk,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  so." 

He  said  nothing  for  a  few  seconds,  and  then 
answered: 

"  Don't  mind  it,  my  lad.     I'm  used  t'  it.     Ye  see, 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  99 

Quickstep,  I  don't  lack -sense ;  what  I  mean  for  to 
say  is,  that  ere  kind  o'  sense  as  comes  o'  experence 
an*  not  o'  edicashun.  I  ses,  I'm  a  odd  lookin'  bein', 
and  no*  b'dy  don't  keer  for  me.  Cause  why  ?  Cause 
I'm  not  made  up  to  the  likes  o'  other  men,  an*  they 
langhs  at  me,"  and  here  he  hesitated  awhile,  but 
continued  in  his  soft  voice : 

"  But,  my  lad,  I've  a  heart  as  is  true  blue,  an'  I 
wants  to  be  yer  friend." 

"  I  want  you  to  be  my  friend,  Ned,"  I  answered, 
struck  with  the  kindness  of  his  manner,  "  for  you 
know  that  I  am  only  a  greenhorn." 

He  took  one  of  my  hands  between  his  great  palms 
and  pressed  it  with  more  feeling  than  could  have 
been  expressed  in  words,  though  those  words  were 
uttered  with  all  the  eloquence  of  studied  rhetoric, 
saying: 

* '  Ye '11  want  'er  friend  afore  this  here  vyage  is 
up,  belike." 

This  was  said  so  quietly,  so  gently,  that  the  creak 
of  a  single  block ,  the  rippling  of  a  sail  would  have 
drowned  it.  I  listened  and  wondered  what  freak 
of  nature  had  created  this  man's  make  up,  so  un- 
gainly, so  hideous  even,  but  so  fully  compensated 
with  a  bird-like  voice,  and  so  at  variance  with  the 
lifetime  experience  he  must  have  had. 

"  Thank  you,  Ned,  for  the  interest  you  take  in 
me,"  I  replied,  "  and  I  accept  you  for  a  friend  with 
all  my  heart.  There  is  so  much  that  I  don't  know, 
and  that  I  must  learn,  in  which  you  can  assist  me." 

"  Why,"  he  answered  in  a  pleased  way,  which  I 


100       -  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

could  only  guess  from  the  tone  of  his  voice,  for  I 
had  never  seen  the  grimness  of  his  features  relax 
into  a  smile  for  a  moment,  "  I  kin  larn  ye  all  about 
er  ship  from  keelson  to  royal  masthead." 

"  I  am  sure  of  it,"  I  answered,  when  he  contin- 
ued, "  I  ain't  agoin'  for  ter  say  nothin'  agin'  no  b'dy, 
'cause  that's  not  me.  But  there's  many  a  man 
aboard  er  this  here  craft  as  don't  know  tile  fore- 
royal-stay  from  the  foretopmast-stay ,  nor  the  keelson 
from  the  foreroyal-truck." 

•"  They  can  learn,"  I  suggested. 

"  Yes,  o'  course  they  kin  larn,  an  ef  any  on'  em 
gits  in  trouble,  I  ses,  let  'em  call  on  Ned  Ricks  an 
he'll  git  em  out." 

And  so  we  used  to  chat  and  yarn  every  night 
when  we  were  on  deck  together,  and  it  was  not 
long  under  such  training  before  I  knew  every  rope, 
every  sail,  and  every  stick  and  spar  in  the  ship. 
But  the  compass  puzzled  me ,  and  we  walked  up  and 
down  the  deck  discussing  the  mystic  compass  and 
other  matters. 

"Quickstep,"  commenced  Ned  suddenly,  as  if 
an  idea  had  struck  him,  "ye  ain't  bin  aloft  yit, 
heve  ye? 

"  No,  not  yet,"  I  answered;  "  but  I  shall  not 
mind  that,  I  can  do  that  well  enough  after  a  few 
trials." 

' '  In  course  ye  kin.  It's  as  easy  as  goin'  up  stairs 
in  a  house — when  yer  used  ter  it." 

"  Oh,  I  can  do  it,"  I  said,  with  much  confidence, 
though  not  more  than  I  felt,  "  but  what  puzzles  me 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  101 

most  is  the  reading  of  the  compass.  I  cannot  un- 
derstand it  at  all.  Tom  Krekit  has  been  trying  to 
teach  me,  but  my  head  is  as  thick  as  a  butcher's 
block." 

' '  That's  the  easiest  part  o'  sailorisin'  I  ses.  Jes 
begin  at  no  the,  and  keep  goin  roun  till  ye  git  no  the 
agin:  an  then  ye  takes  yer  half  pints,  an  yer 
quarter  pints,  an  thair  ye  are." 

"  That's  the  way  Krekit  said  it,"  I  answered, 
"and  I  suppose  I  shall  learn  it — I  will  learn  it." 

We  had  many  talks  over  the  compass  and  its 
difficulties  to  me,  on  our  night  watches,  Ned  al- 
ways insisting  that  it  was,  as  he  so  often  expressed 
it,  "  as  easy  as  eaten  o'  a  plum  duff." 

One  day  the  second  mate,  (it  was  his  trick  at  the 
wheel,)  was  trying  to  make  me  understand  the 
mysteries  of  the  binnacle-box.  He  turned  the 
wheel  down  two  spokes,  and  turned  it  back  one, 
alternately  looking  at  the  card  and  up  at  the  sails, 
with  an  occasional  glance  astern,  when  the 
whole  thing  came  to  me  like  a  flash — I  saw  the 
working  of  it  as  if  by  inspiration. 

I  remembered  never  to  have  been  so  much  grati- 
fied before  but  once,  and  that  was  after  months 
and  months  of  effort  to  tell  the  time  of  day  by  the 
clock.  That  too,  came  to  me,  just  as  the  secret  of 
the  compass  did,  while  standing  with  the  second 
mate. 

I  was  overjoyed  and  fairly  danced  with  excite- 
ment. As  soon  as  I  was  relieved  I  ran  straight  to 
tell  Ned  of  my  progress  in  "  sailorisin,"  as  he 


102  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

called  it.  He  was  as  much  pleased  as  myself  over 
it.  He  was  engaged  worming  a  rope,  and  when  I 
told  him  of  my  success,  he  dropped  his  work,  put 
his  left  hand  upon  his  left  hip,  then  put  the  other 
hand  on  his  right  hip  and  broke  out  into  extrava- 
gant praises,  saying: 

"  I  know'd  ye'd  larn  it,  I  know'd  ye'd  larn  it, 
cause  yer's  a  lad  o'  oncommon  sense/'  Just  then 
the  mate  came  up  and  ordered  him  to  some  other 
duty.  He  went  off,  his  grim  face  not  changing  a 
muscle,  repeating,  as  long  as  I  could  hear  his  voice, 
' '  I  know'd  ye'd  larn  it. " 

Ned  Ricks  and  I  were  companions  whenever  we 
were  on  watch,  and  I  further  learned  from  his  con- 
versation that  he  was  full  of  the  superstitions  of 
the  sea.  He  knew  all  the  sea  lore  which  sailors 
trade  with  each  other.  Indeed,  I  may  say  that  he 
was  learned  in  all  those  things  which  shake  one's 
common  sense  when  one  becomes  a  seaman — if  one 
is  not  pretty  well  balanced. . 

One  morning,  right  after  breakfast,  when  we 
were  all  engaged  washing  down  the  decks  and 
looking,  in  our  ragged,  patched  and  variegated 
clothing,  as  if  we  had  just  escaped  from  some  cor- 
rectional institution,  Ned  asked  me  in  a  lower  tone 
than  usual : 

"Johnnie,  did  you  hear  them  gulls  last  night 
over  the  main-mast  head. " 

"  No,  I  heard  nothing,  what  do  you  mean  2" 

"  Why,  I  allow  thet  when  them  ere  gulls  is  a 
flying  to  the  shore  it  means  there's  goin  ter  be 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  103 

a  ship  wreck,  or  a  accident.  An  when  ye  sees  em 
a-settin  on  the  water  a-chatterin  an  a-chatterin, 
an  flirtin'  the  water  aroun*  ther'll  be  somethin 
what's  onnatural.  I  hearn  'em  last  night  when  we 
was  a  talkin  by  the  corner  o'  the  galley,  an  afore 
many  days  soin' thin  i'll  happen."  He  said  this  in 
his  quiet  way,  and  went  on  with  his  work. 

That  set  me  to  thinking,  and  then  I  remembered 
reading  somewhere  : 

"  Seagull,  seagull,  sit  on  the  sand, 

It's  never  good  weather  when  you're  on  the  land." 

Then  I  repeated  it,  and  asked  Ned  if  he  had 
ever  heard  it. 

"  No,  I  never  heerd  it,  but  I  knows  as  ther'll  be 
som'thin'  happenin5  when  the  gulls  is  goin  ashore, 
and  I  heerd  'em  a  flyin'  across  the  ship  over  the  top- 
mast head." 

Of  course  I  never  believed  such  stuff,  and  yet  it 
is  a  difficult  thing  to  divest  one's  mind  of  a  certain 
amount  of  belief,  especially  when  uttered  with  all 
the  appearance  of  honesty,  as  Ned  uttered  it. 
The  day  after  this  conversation,  although  I  laughed 
at  him,  there  did  something  happen. 

All  at  once  the  cry  rang  out,  "  Man  overboard." 

Now,  that  cry  is  one  which  penetrates  at  once 
to  one's  very  marrow.  It  is  a  cry  of  despair,  ring- 
ing from  one  end  of  the  ship  to  the  other,  meaning 
that  a  shipmate,  one  of  God's  creatures,  has  been 
hurled  into  the  ocean  there  to  battle  for  his  life. 

I  know  of  nothing  that  equals  the  intensity  of 
the  cry  "  man  overboard,"  except  the  one  of 


104  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"Fire  ! "  sounded  on  shipboard.  Poe's  description  of 
the-fire  bells  is  akin  to  it,  where  each  clangs  out  that 
the  devouring  flame  is  leaping  higher,  higher.  In 
reading  it  one  can  almost  hear  the  crackling  tim- 
bers, and  see  the  homes  of  startled  dwellers  melting 
away  before  the  fork-tongued  demon  whose  appe- 
tite is  only  appeased  in  the  ashes  of  consumed 
human  habitations. 

The  captain  sprang  out  of  his  cabin  at  the  cry, 
and  all  hands  were  on  deck  in  a  moment  looking 
aft;  the  captain  shouted  the  necessary  orders,  and 
every  man  was  at  his  post. 

The  life-buoy  was  let  go,  the  helm  ported,  the 
boat  cleared  away,  the  courses  hauled  up,  the  fore- 
yard  hauled  aback,  heaving  the  vessel  to.  The 
boat  was  over  and  manned  in  a  few  moments,  the 
men  putting  all  their  strength  upon  the  oars.  In- 
side of  a  half  hour  the  man  was  brought  on  board 
with  nothing  worse  than  a  bad  fright  and  a  wet 
jacket.  It  appeared  that  a  seaman  standing  in 
the  main  chains,  more  for  bravado  than  for  any- 
thing he  had  to  do  there,  lost  his  balance  and 
tumbled  into  the  sea.  He  confessed  that  he  was 
much  frightened  and  thought  he  was  a  goner. 

The  helm  was  righted,  the  courses  let  down,  and 
as  the  ship  fell  away  the  yards  swung  around,  the 
helmsman  meeting  the  ship  to  the  trim  of  the  sails. 
This  occasion  was  the  first  one  on  which  the  captain 
showed  what  he.  might  be  capable  of  in  the  way  of 
discipline.  As  the  man  alighted  on  deck,  the 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  105 

water  dripping  from  his  clothing,  the  captain 
roared  out  : 

"What  were  you  doing  out  there,  you  lubberly 
matelot  f  Why  were  you  not  on  deck  doing  your 
duty  ?  I've  a  great  mind  to  make  you  straddle  the 
fore  to'gallant  yard  for  half  a  day,"  and  calling  for 
the  mate  he  ordered  : 

"  Mr.  Ryder,  punish  this  man;  put  him  where  he 
cannot  see  the  deck  for  a  week,"  and  walked  away 
to  his  cabin. 

After  the  excitement  was  over,  Ned  approached 
me,  saying: 

' '  I  told  ye  somethun  was  a-goin  ter  happen — 
didn't  I?"  The  last  words  were  added  as  if  he  had 
some  doubt  of  whether  the  accident  was  grave 
enough  for  a  convincing  example. 

"Yes,  you  did.  But  it  was  nothing — a  good 
wetting,  and  touching  the  captain's  temper  off—- 
the man  was  not  drowned,  and  had  a  good  swim." 

"He  might  a  bin  drownded,  only  there  wasn't 
gulls  enough  flew  over  the  mast-head,"  replied  Ned. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


PROBABLY  the  strangest  thing  that  ever  happened , 
in  making  up  a  crew,  was  the  shipping  of  a  monkey 
on  board  of  the  Peri.  Jabo  was  the  name  of  the 
monkey,  and  it  belonged  to  Pedro  the  cook. 

It  was  of  the  ring- tail  species,  which  has  the  power 
of  hanging  by  its  tail,  just  as  though  it  had  another 
hand ,  thus  rendering  it  capable  of  using  both  hands 
while  holding  on  by  its  prehensile  member.  The 
animal  had  been  brought  from  some  port  where  the 
cook  had  been,  when  it  was  a  baby,  and  had  become 
a  pet  which  its  master  could  not  live  without,  it 
accompanying  him  wherever  he  went .  on  land  or  on 
sea. 

The  shipping  master,  making  up  the  crew  of  the 
Peri,  refused  to  let  the  monkey  go  on  board  ship, 
and  Peclro  as  persistently  refused  to  go  without 
Jabo.  So  the  matter  stood  umtil  it  was  agreed,  for 
the  cook  was  well. known  to  the  whaling  fraternity 
as  a  first-rater,  that  he  might  take  his  pet  with 
him ,  and  in  this  way  Jabo  became  a  part  of  the  crew, 
and  entitled  to  his  rations. 

The  cook  was  a  full  blooded-negro,  born  some- 
where in  North  Carolina,  and  an  immense  man  in 
his  proportions.  He  was  tall,  straight  as  an  arrow, 

106 


WHALING    VOYAGE.  107 

and  his  shoulders,  from  the  outside  of  one  upper 
arm  to  the  outside  of  the  other,  were  fully  four 
feet.  His  limbs  were  immense,  and  his  strength 
phenomenal.  In  fact,  he  was  a  Hercules  in  pro- 
portions and  strength. 

His  intellect  was  not  of  the  brightest  sort,  yet  he 
was  no  fool.  His  countenance  was  refreshing  to 
look  upon  by  reason  of  the  habitual  radiance  of 
smile,  disclosing  teeth  of  regularity,  and  glistening 
white,  which  illuminated  his  shining,  black,  but 
regular  features. 

He  was  generally  liked  by  officers  and  crew,  and 
this  had  been  so  in  every  cruise  he  had  made. 
This,  also,  was  why  the  monkey  had  been  admitted 
to  the  ship  as  his  companion.  His  pare  blood, 
bright  eyes,  and  uniformly  radiant  face  had  been 
a  passport  to  all  the  voyages  he  had  made. 

Pedro  did  his  duty  right  along  without  running 
foul  of  anybody.  But  there  was  one  peculiarity  in 
his  character,  which  was  dangerous  when  he  felt 
that  he  had  been  badly  treated,  wronged  or  abused, 
and  that  was,  that  a  demon  seemed  to  actuate  him 
completely. 

-uch  times  his  thick  and  pouting  lips  shrank 
to  almost  the  thinness  of  a  knife-blade,  his  teeth 
seemed  twice  as  large  as  usual,  much  whiter,  and 
many  more  of  them, -his  complexion  took  on  an 
ashy  hue,  and  his  eyes  snapped  with  wrath  at 
such  times,  which  was  not  often,  woe  to  the  man 
who  had  wronged  him. 

Jabo  became  in  a  short  time  a  pet  of  the  crew, 


108  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

being  welcomed  in  any  part  of  the  ship  except  in 
the  cabin,  for  the  captain  disliked  monkeys.  Jabo 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the  time  in  and  about  the 
galley,  watching  his  master  prepare  and  cook  the 
rations  with  as  much  interest  apparently  as  though 
he  were  human.  Pedro  talked  and  joked  with 
him  just  as  though  he  were  so,  and  the  monkey  un- 
derstood all  that  was  said  to  him. 

The  pet  monkey  would  sit  there  waiting  for  some 
nice  morsel  which  Pedro  had  saved  for  him,  and, 
indeed,  the  pet  was  treated  with  an  attention  and 
affection  that  was  the  very  tip-top  of  devotion. 
But,  as  every  animal  has  some  weak  place  in  its 
nature,  including  man,  the  pampered  pet  had  his 
share  of  frailty. 

One  of  Jabo's  acquirements,  or,  rather,  a  natural 
trait,  was  quite  human — he  was  a  thief.  He 
would  sit  in  the  galley  watching  Pedro,  busy  about 
his  duties,  occasionally  getting  a  rich  morsel  of  food, 
looking  as  amiable,  as  sanctimonious  as  though  he 
never  had  an  evil  thought — indeed,  as  if  he  were 
the  soul  of  honesty. 

All  of  a  sudden,  without  any  warning  he  would 
grab  a  piece  of  something,  perhaps  a  part  of  what 
had  been  prepared  for  the  captain's  table,  and, 
escaping  in  the  most  human  way,  would  bounce  up 
the  main  rigging  and  out  onto  the  lower  yard, 
grasp  the  foot-rope  with  his  tail,  and  swing  there 
in  all  the  ecstacy  of  spoliation. 

Jabo  knew,  as  well  as  his  human  cousin  germain 
would  know,  that  he  had  done  wrong,  but  his 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  109 

master  was  forgiving,  as  he  also  knew;  and  when 
he  thought  it  was  time  to  return  and  get  a  scold- 
ing in  place  of  a  beating,  he  would  descend,  and 
enter  the  galley  with  the  funniest  hypocritical  ex- 
pression on  his  face.  It  was  extremely  droll,  it  was 
so  human. 

These  tricks  were  repeated,  but  always  ended  in 
forgiveness  by  Pedro  and  reformation  by  the  mon- 
key, until  the  brute  was  tempted  again,  when  the 
same  thing  was  repeated — forgiveness  and  all. 
Revelling  in  this  leniency,  Jabo  had  become  a  con- 
firmed kleptomaniac,  helping  himself  to  whatever 
was  eatable,  no  matter  to  whom  it  belonged. 

Well,  hitherto  the  brute  had  confined  his  depre- 
dations to  the  galley;  but  there  came  a  time  when 
he  was  tempted  too  far,  which,  however,  Was  the 
cause  of  a  most  complete  reformation. 

He  had  put  his  paw  into  a  pannikin  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  men,  running  off  with  a  bit 
of  choice  salt-horse ,  which  happened  that  day  to  be 
of  extra  quality  and  flavor,  and,  running  up  the 
rigging  as  usual,  enjoyed  the  treat  with  both  hands 
and  paws,  using  his  tail  to  the  usual  advantage. 

When  he  thought  it  had  all  been  forgotten — for, 
though  monkeys  refuse  to  speak,  for  their  own 
purposes,  they  are  right  fair  thinkers — he  came 
down  from  aloft,  went  into  the  galley,  and,  finding 
everything  peaceful  there,  made  an  excursion  to 
the  forecastle.  The  men  had  finished  their  dinner, 
and  were  yarning  and  playing  pranks  on  each 
other. 


110  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

The  man  who  had  lost  the  salt-horse  from  his 
pannikin — Frenchy,  the  men  called  him— had 
sworn  vengeance  against  the  thief.  Jabo  was  sit- 
ting with  his  rump  on  one  of  the  sea-chests,  and 
his  tail  uncurled  and  laid  out  lengthwise  on  the 
chest. 

Frenchy  slipped  up  behind  him,  drew  his  sheath 
knife  from  his  belt,  and  chopped  off  about  two 
inches  of  the  monkey's  tail,  destroying  its  prehen- 
sile quality,  saying,  in  his  broken  English,  ' '  By  gar, 
ze  monkey  no  steal  my  horse  encore." 

Jabo  bounded  up  the  forecastle  ladder  and  into 
the  galley  howling  and  pleading.  Pedro  soon  saw 
what  the  matter  was,  and  a  shade  of  anger  crossed 
his  face,  completely  obliterating  the  usual  smile. 
He  did  not  let  Jabo  go  out  of  his  sight,  but  kept 
him  fastened  in  the  galley  until  the  wound  healed 
up.  It  soon  became  known  who  had  cut  Jabo's 
tail  off,  and  Pedro  vowed  he  would  get  even. 

Jabo  soon  got  well  and  about,  and  the  very  first 
thing  he  did  was  to  make  off  with  some  pastry  pre- 
pared for  the  captain's  table,  and  up  to  the  yard- 
arm  he  flew,  slung  his  tail  over  the  footrope  and 
let  go  with  both  hands.  But  the  holding  power  of 
his  tail  was  gone,  and  he  came  down  onto  the  deck, 
striking  on  his  head,  and  in  his  fright  letting  the 
pastry  go  scattering  over  the  deck.  He  got  upon 
his  feet,  and  stood  there  for  a  few  seconds  with  the 
most  perfect  look  of  human  disappointment  and 
astonishment  it  is  possible  to  imagine. 

However,  he  was  a  reformed  monkey  from  that 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  Ill 

time.  He  had  lost  confidence  in  his  tail,  and  the 
safety  of  refuge,  and  from  that  time  forward  he 
was  as  honest  as  a  condoned  bank  defaulter,  never 
touching  a  thing  that  was  not  given  to  him. 

He  was  so  penitent  that  I  used  to  look  at  him 
and -wonder  whether  mankind  had  not,  under  some 
system,  of  evolution,  been  deprived  of  the  tail  for 
some  such  reason. 

The  crew  had  taken  Jabo  into  fellowship  again 
since  his  reformation,  including  Frenchy,  making 
much  of  him,  and,  consequently,  he  was  more  fre- 
quently among  the  sailors.  Pedro,  however, 
although  he  had  an  honest  monkey,  had  not  for- 
given Frenchy  for  his  share  in  the  monkey's 
reformation.  He  had  it  in  for  Frenchy,  as  the 
sailors  say,  and  that  led  to  ill-feeling  between  the 
two,  which  was,  however,  for  a  time  smothered, 
like  the  banked  fires  under  a  steamer's  boiler,  to 
be  fired  up  when  occasion  required. 

It  was  in  the  first  dog  watch  on  a  Sunday,  when 
the  greater  part  of  the  crew  was  lolling  about  the 
deck,  forward  of  the  forecastle,  spinning  yarns, 
singing,  dancing,  fiddling,  and  chaffing  each  other 
as  only  sailors  can  do.  This  chaffing  is  often 
rough,  coarse  and  personal — sometimes  profane. 

Jabo  was  sitting  on  the  windlass  as  demure  and 
intent  as  though  he  were  the  judge  of  the  propriety 
of  what  was  going  on.  His  half  human  face  had 
that  quiet  repose  so  characteristic  of  the  simian 
tribe — a  look  of  wisdom  that  evolution  might 
refine  into  speech.  There  he  sat  upright,  in  one 


112  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

position,  never  stirring,  but  watching  the  motions 
of  the  men.  Could  the  beast  have  laughed,  he 
might  have  been  accepted  as  a  diminutive  wild  man 
just  returning  to  the  possession  of  faculties  long 
dormant. 

Ben  Bosun  was  in  the  party.  Ben  was  one  of 
those  salts  who  belonged  to  the  old  school  of  mar- 
iners, with  but  one  modern  idea,  and  that  was,  that 
he  swore  "  Scatter  my  rivets,"  in  place  of  "Shiver 
my  timbers,"  claiming  that  there  were  no  timbers 
in  the  iron  ships  now  afloat  to  shiver. 

Ben's  face  was  round  and  plump,  his  hair  grey 
and  cut  short,  and  his  whiskers  had  been  trained  to 
grow  from  one  ear  to  the  other ,  touching  no  part  of 
his  face,  and  it  was  difficult  to  decide  whether  his 
throat  or  chin  could  claim  that  hairy  adornment. 

Ben  was  an  aristocrat  among  the  men,  that  is, 
they  all  looked  up  to  him  as  a  superior  sort  of  sailor- 
man,  going  to  him  for  advice  and  making  him  the 
umpire  in  all  their  disputes.  If  both  persons  de- 
clined to  abide  by  his  decision,  why,  he  just  turned 
in  and  mauled  both  of  them.  Ben  was  regarded  by 
the  crew  as  being  somewhere  between  forward  and 
aft,  not  quite  big  enough  for  aft,  and  too  big  for  the 
forecastle,  and,  in  his  way,  an  oracle.  Whatever 
Ben  decided  to  be  so,  was  the  belief  of  the  forecastle, 
and  often  the  law  of  that  realm  beneath  the  heel  of 
the  bowsprit. 

One  of  the  sailors,  one  Chain,  started  a  new  topic 
by  saying:  "  I'm  blow'd  ef  I  dont  ble've  that  ere 
bloomin'  monkey  knows  every  word  what  we're  a 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  113 

sayin',  and  ef  he  could  talk,  the  cap'n  'ud  put  him 
ter  greasin'  down  the  mast,  quicker  'n  lightnin." 

"  That's  all  fol-de-rol,"  said  Jack  Staples,  "  afore 
a  animal  kin  understand,  he's  'bliged  to  have  er 
soul,  and  this  ere  monkey,  he  ain't  got  nary  one." 

"  Why  couldn't  he  have  not  nary  a  one,"  asked 
Chain,  with  a  look  intended  to  convince  Staples, 
"I've  hearn  tell,  the t  afore  ships  hed  decks  an' 
fok'sles  an'  all  that,  thousands  o'  years  ago,  ef  a 
man  went  ded  his  soul'd  shift  quarters  to  the  carcas 
o'  a  animal." 

"  Well,  that's  all  rot,"  answered  Staples,  with 
some  heat,  "  an'  we'll  leave  it  ter  Bill  Bosun  fur 
ter  decide,  a  twixt  us.  Wot  de  say,  Bill?" 

"  Look  a  here,  my  lads, "commenced  Bill,  looking 
as  solemn  as  a  statesman  having  some  question  of 
statecraft  propounded  to  him,  and  answering  cau- 
tiously: "Ye  see,  my  hearties,"  and  turning  his 
quid  over  several  times,  as  though  that  were  the  key 
to  the  combination  to  put  his  wits  in  order,  de- 
livered himself  of  the  following:  "  Shipmates,  I 
don't  purtend  to  know  what  it  pleased  the  Creator 
of  all  things  to  do,  but,"  and  here  he  mouthed  his 
tobacco  again,  "  what's  ther  matter  uv  Him  what 
made  the  hull  world ,  puttin'  of  a  ded  man's  soul  in- 
ter a  anirnal's  body— ef  He  seen  fit?  Now,takin' 
thet  there  view  of  it,  there's  nothin'  onpossible  in't 
es  I  kin  see.  An  so,  as  Chain  ses,  this  here  mon- 
key's ugly  body  mought  be  the  fok'sle  war  som'- 
body's  soul  is  stowed  away." 
(8) 


114  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

The  men  cried  out  in  chorus,  except  Staples,  who 
could  not  swallow  any  such  theory. 

' '  That's  so.  Bill ,  he  knows. "  When  that  oracle 
continued,  having  rolled  his  quid  over,  in  order 
to  collect  his  ideas, 

"  Ye  see,  my  bullies,  when  thet  ere  man  was  ded, 
in  course  he  couldn't  speak  not  no  more,  an  his 
woice  went  along  o'  his  body  just  as  the  bells  o'  his 
watch  ringed  him  out.  Ye  see,  agin,  thet  ef  the 
woice  o'  thet  ere  ded  man  had  'er  bl'nged  to  his 
soul,  an  not  to  his  body,  I  'low  thet  this  ere  mon- 
key 'ud  speak,  an  hev  ter  stan'  watch  along  with 
the  rest  o'  us. " 

"I  know'd  I  was  right,"  exclaimed  Chain, 
"cause  why,  'cause  it  stans  to  reason,  es  Bill  ses, 
thet  ef  er  man  was  ded,  then  his  voice  was  ded, 
and  his  soul  could  go  war  it  was  sont  to." 

"  I  aint  a  d'sputen  wot  Bill  ses,"  replied  Staples, 
a  bit  angry  because  all  were  against  him,  "  '  cause 
he's  got  edicashun,  an  thets  wot  I  aint  got;  but 
what  's  the  use  o'  sendin  the  soul  o'  a  ded  man 
inter  a  animal,  an  not  sendin  the  woice  along  uv  it." 

"  That's  'cause  ye  don't  onderstan'  Scrip tur  an 
sich  things,"  answered  Chain. 

"Well,  Idon'tbl'eveit." 

"  Why,  ye  swab,"  insisted  Chain,  "  ain't  Bill  sed 
so,  what  more  d'  ye  want." 

"  Don't  call  me  a  swab,  "angrily  retorted  Staples, 
"anyhow,  I'd  ruther  be  a  swab  nor  a  sojer,  fur 
that's  what  ye  air,  an  the  ship's  crew  knows  it." 

"  Ye  dirty  swab,"  retorted  Chain  savagely,  put- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  115 

ting  himself  in  a  fighting  attitude,  "  ef  I  was  cap'n 
o'  this  ere  ship  I'd  hevye  spread-eagled,  an  then 
hev  ye  lashed  to  the  dolphin  striker  an  give  ye  a 
bath." 

The  two  men  started  for  each  other,  and  the 
monkey,  which  had  been  the  innocent  cause  of  it 
all,  scampered  away  with  a  gait  between  a  skip 
and  a  run,  seeking  refuge  in  the  galley. 

There  was  a  prospect  of  a  row,  and  Bill,  seeing  it 
coming,  jumped  between  the  men,  saying  in  a  con- 
ciliatory tone: 

"  Awast  there,  shipmates,  ev'ry  man  kin  bl'eve 
what  he  wants  to,  an  ev'ry  man  kin  onbl'eve  what 
he  wants  to,  an  ef  ye  intend  ter  do  any  fightin' 
here,  then  I  'low  I'll  take  a  hand,  an  ef  I  does  ye'll 
both  feel  the  heft  o*  my  maulers,  I  ses,  ye're  both 
on  ye  in  the  right  one  way,  an  both  on  ye're  wrong 
tother  way.  Wot  d'  ye  say,  my  lads  ? "  said  Bill 
appealing  to  the  crew . 

"  Why,  ye're  jist  what  Bill  ses,  an  thet's  it,"  was 
the  combined  answer. 

This  restored  amity,  and,  after  a  few  moments, 
Bill  commenced:  <(  Now,  my  hearties,  along  o'  that 
ere  monkey  I'll  give  ye  a  yarn  wot  ev'ry  word's 
truer  'n  preachin. 

All  hands  surrounded  the  speaker  anxious  to  hear 
his  yarn,  when  Staples  walked  up  to  Chain, 
extended  his  great  paw  toward  that  person,  saying: 

"  You  an  me  ain't  no  enemies,  aire  we  ? " 

"  Right  ye  aire,"  replied   Chain,    "  ony,   ev'ry 


116  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

man's  'titled  to  his  own  'pinion,  ef  he  is  ony  a 
fok'slehand." 

"That's  so,  shipmate,"  answered  Staples,  and, 
turning  to  Ben,  bawled  out : 

"  Were  a  listenin',  Ben." 

"Oncte,  a  good  many  years  ago,"  commenced 
Bosun,  "  I  hed  a  shipmate  as  his  name  was  Frank 
Devens.  He  was  one  o'  the  best  chantey  men  I 
ever  heerd  at  a  windlass  bar,  an  he  wasn't  no  com- 
mon old  matelot,  nuther.  He  was  the  son  o'  a  genle'- 
man  an'  come  inter  the  fok'sle  cause  he  liked  it, 
not  cause  he  had  'ter,  like  us  fellers  right  here. 
He  talked  jist  like  a  book,  'cause  he  read  all  the 
books  in  the  world,  an'  he  know'd  ev'ry thing  in  the 
world.  He  edicated  me,  an  I'm  proud  o'  him. 

' '  He  used  ter  spin  er  yarn  what  he  called  the  cat- 
woman;  't  was  about  a  young  gal  as  used  ter  turn 
herself  into  a  cat. 

' '  He  says  to  me  one  night — we  was  in  the  same 
watch — Ben,  ses  he,  ef  ye  had  all  the  money  in  the 
world,  what  would  ye  do  with  it  ? " 

"  This  was  a  stumper,  'cause  I  wasn't  a  'ristocrat 
an'  I  didn't  know  much  'bout  high  livin  'cept  salt- 
horse  an  the  like  a'  that;  but  I  hove  to,  an  ses  I, 
what  would  I  do  ef  I  had  all  the  money  in  the  world  ? 
Why,  I'd  buy  all  the  rum  an  all  the  terbaecer." 

"  Frank,  he  looked  at  me  with  a  consarned  kind 
o'  smile,  an  ses  he,  thet  wouldn't  spend  all  the 
money;  what  would  ye  do  wi'  the  rest  on  't  ?  Why, 
ses  I,  a  thinkin  I'd  be  in  clover,  I'd  buy  more  rum." 

"  Giv'  us  the  cat- woman  yarn,  Ben,"  struck  up 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  117 

several  of  the  men,  "  afore  ye  git  all  that  ere  rum 
stowed  under  ye r  hatches." 

"  I  blVe  I'm  gittin  a  bit  out  o'  my  course,  pr'hps 
a  pint  or  two.  Howsumever,"  explained  Bill,  "  I'll 
give  ye  the  yarn  'thout  deviatin'  agin. " 

"  Frank's  father  give  him  more  money  'en  this 
ere  fok'sle  'nd  hold  what's  under  us,  more  'en  a 
thousand  dollars ;  an'  Frank  he  went  out  inter  Ohio 
for  to  buy  a  ile  well. 

"It  was  in  one  'er  them  ere  places  war  the 
natives  live  all  winter  by  cheatin  each  other,  an'  in 
the  summer  time  they  combines  an  cheats  the 
greenhorns  what  comes  ter  buy  ile  land. 

' '  In  the  house  war  Frank  lived  out  there  was 
two  gals  what  was  the  darters  uv  the  man  what 
kep'  the  boardin'  house.  No  matter  war  Frank  was , 
one  o'  them  gals  was  clost  to  him.  The  door  mought 
be  locked,  an  the  winders  shot  down  tight;  but 
thar  was  that  ere  gal  all  the  same,  inter  the  room, 
and  she  must  'er  come  throo  the  keyhole — leastwise 
thet's  what  Frank  thot. 

"It  wasn't  not  no  matter  what  Frank^was  a 
doin  of,  with  the  doors  an  winders  shot  tighter  nor 
a  ship's  hatches  in  a  storm,  thar  was  that  ere  gal  a' 
lookin  right  over  his  shoulder,  an,  when  he  turned 
roun'  thair  was  nothin  thar,  'cept  the  tail  o'  a  cat 
a-goin'  throo  the  winder  'thout  injurin'  o'  the  glass. 
".Frank,  he  bot  a  gun  an  he  lay  fur  the  thing, 
whatever  it  mought  be,  not  a  thinkin  as  it  was 
mor'n  a  cat;  an  one  night,  about  eight  bells,  Frank 
sees  two  big  eyes  a  ttamin  in  the  corner  o'  the  room, 


118  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

an  behind  em  wus  a  big  black  animal  a  switchin  of 
its  tail  like  it  was  mad.  Frank  grappled  onto  his 
gun,  an,  as  the  thing  'scaped  throo  the  keyhole,  he 
let  fly,  an,  es  soon  es  the  gun  went  off  the  hull 
fambly  cum  a  runnin  ter  see  what  was  the  matter; 
an  thet  ere  cat  was  transmogrified  inter  that  ere 
gal,  an  she  was  a  lay  in'  in  the  back  yard  with  a 
bullet-hole  jist  aft  o'  er  starboard  breast,  an'  the 
blood  a  streamin  out. " 

Staples  gave  a  long  whistle,  Chain  looked  per- 
plexed, and  I  tried  to  look  as  if  I  believed  it. 

Chain  spoke  up,  saying: 

"  Thar's  one  thing  I  wants  for  to  ax  ye.  Was 
thar  any  o'  the  hair  o'  that  cat  a  stickin  to  the  key- 
hole ? "  Ben,  without  answering  the  question,  said: 

"  Ev'ry  man  kin  ble've  what  he  wants  ter,  an 
ev'ry  man  kin  onble've  wot  he  wants  ter. " 


C'HAPTER  XII. 

THE     FISH     LIAR. 

William  Marson,  a  boa tsteerer  on  board  the  Peri , 
was  yet  a  young  man,  being  about  twenty -five,  who 
had  made  several  whaling  voyages  before  the  mast, 
and,  being  well  known  as  an  efficient  and  good 
sailor,  had  been  shipped  as  above,  and  that  was  his 
first  promotion. 

He  was  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  one  of  the  small  towns  in  the 
interior  of  that  State,  where  he  had  passed  his  life, 
until  he  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  upon 
his  father's  farm,  so  that  he  was  used  to  hard 
labor.  He  was  a  level-headed  fellow,  and  when 
asked  why  he  preferred  the  hard  life  of  a  seaman , 
rather  than  that  of  a  farmer,  explained  in  this 
way : 

"  Farming,"  said  he,  "  even  when  one  owns  the 
land,  is  not  only  a  laborious  and  exacting  occupa- 
tion ,  but  an  uncertain  one ,  also.  Machinery ,  in  this 
as  in  other  pursuits,  has  taken  the  place  of  manual 
labor,  and  the  man  who  depends  upon  agricultural 
labor  as  a  means  of  gaining  a  living  is  out  of 
employment  for  at  least  half  of  the  year.  A  reap- 
ing, mowing,  or  threshing  machine  will  do  the 
work  of  a  whole  county,  and  take  the  place  of 

119 


120  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

many  men  who  otherwise  would  be  employed  the 
year  round. 

"  There  can  be  no  competition  by  hand  labor  with 
machinery,  and  so  it  becomes  a  measure  of  economy 
with  the  employing  farmer  in  two  ways.  First,  he 
saves  money  by  employing  the  machine,  which  does 
its  work  in  a  short  time,  rather  than  men  at  so 
much  per  day:  and  in  securing  his  crops  is  not  sub- 
ject to  combinations  of  laborers,  changes  of  weather 
and  other  vicissitudes  which  surround  the  old  system 
of  hand  labor. 

"  Besides,  there  is  a  tameness  in  the  life  of  a  farm 
hand  which  is  irksome  to  an  intelligent,  active, 
ambitious  youngster.  The  hum-drum  of  such  a 
life  is  unbearable,  and  this  is  why  the  young  men 
of  rural  populations  are  deserting  the  occupation  of 
their  fathers  and  flocking  to  the  large  cities  in  search 
of  fortune.  This,  of  course,  crowds  the  ranks  of 
unskilled  labor  in  the  large  cities  of  our  country ,  and, 
one  of  the  outlets  of  this  crowded  condition  is  the 
sea,  with  its  presumed  poetry,  but  actual  hardship. 

"  Aside  from  these  causes,  young  men  are  often 
impatient  of  the  restraints  of  home,  and  seek  a 
broader  fieldj  in  which  to  develope  their  faculties: 
they  do  not  take  kindly  to  the  beaten  track  laid  out 
by  former  generations,  but  desert  and  swell  the 
ranks  of  the  unemployed  in  the  great  marts  of  labor. 

"  If  a  farmer,  in  some  of  the  Eastern  States,  owns 
a  farm  of  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  acres, 
over  one  half  of  it  is  outcropping  rock,  producing 
nothing.  The  summers  are  short,  the  winters  long, 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  121 

and  the  farmer  with  a  homestead  has  literally  to 
wrest  a  living  from  the  soil." 

This  was  all  said  in  a  tone  of  earnest  conviction, 
and  in  fair  language  considering  the  opportunities 
Marson  had  had.  It  was  uttered  in  a  slow  and 
deliberate  manner,  as  we  huddled  beneath  the  shad- 
ow of  the  hen-coop  one  night  in  the  middle  watch.  I 
liked  this  shipmate  very  much,  as  we  were  about 
the  same  age— that  is,  in  boyish  ways,  though  not  in 
years — and  many  were  the  talks  we  have  had  in  the 
solemn  darkness  of  our  watches,  and  many  were  the 
yarns  he  would  spin  to  the  men  in  the  forecastle  in 
idle  hours  and  on  holidays. 

At  home,  before  he  became  a  sailor,  Marson  had 
filled  in  the  intervals  of  labor  with  the  sport  of  fish- 
ing and  gunning,  in  which  he  had  become,  as  he 
claimed,  an  expert.  He  knew  all  the  haunts  of 
the  wily  trout  and  black  bass,  of  which  he  was  very 
proud  and  talkative.  He  was  a  good  sailor  and  a 
cool  determined  hand  in  fastening  to  a  whale,  when 
the  dare-devil  in  his  nature  seemed  to  develope  for 
the  contest. 

Marson  was  a  good,  honest,  manly  fellow;  but  his 
weak  spot  was  his  ability  to  fabricate  big  stories 
about  his  prowess  in  fishing  and  hunting,  more  espe- 
cially of  fishing,  in  which  he  claimed  to  be  an  adept. 
He  never  tired  of  fishing  his  native  streams,  in  ima- 
gination, when  the  men  were  yarning  in  the  fore- 
castle, or  in  our  silent  watches;  and  I  really  believe 
that  he  had  no  idea  that  he  was  drawing  a  long  bow 
at  such  times. 


122  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

He  took  a  great  fancy  to  me,  perhaps,  because  I 
was  a  good  listener  and  never  raised  any  objection 
to  the  truth  of  his  extravagant  yarns.  He  was  the 
soul  of  honor,  would  rather  give  than  take,  and 
truthful  in  everything  not  connected  with  his  favo- 
rite pastime.  The  men  did  not  spare  him  at  all, 
for  the  foremast-man  rarely  exhibits  any  forbear- 
ance in  such  things  unless  the  yarn  happens  to  be 
full  of  supernatural  events,  when  Jack  takes  it  all 
in  as  a  part  of  the  freight  of  what  little  brains  he 
has. 

The  sailorman  is  not  generally  endowed  with  sen- 
timent, and  in  order  to  reach  what  sensibility  he  has, 
one  must  appeal  to  him  with  some  horror.  After 
listening  patiently,  the  men  would  advise  him  to 
' '  stowe  that * '  or  to  ' '  carry  it  to  the  marines. "  Mar- 
son  was  the  but  of  the  forecastle  on  these  occasions ; 
but  the  more  hilarious  the  disbelief,  the  more  our 
hero  thought  himself  misunderstood,  never  seeming 
to  have  a  misgiving  that  he  was  not  telling  the  exact 
truth. 

The  boatsteerer ,  Marson,  had  an  old  gun,  of  doubt- 
ful safety,  which  he  had  brought  on  board  ship  with 
him,  and  a  small  bag  of  fishing  tackle,  not  of  the 
kind  used  by  elegant  sportsmen,  but  good  enough 
for  on  board  ship.  If  one  put  credence  in  all  that 
Marson  said,  one  must  per  force  believe,  without 
examination,  that  he  had  caught  larger  fish,  and 
more  of  them  than  any  other  living  man. 

So  impressed  was  he  with  the  prowess  of  his  own 
expeditions,  that  the  same  yarns,  being  repeated, 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  123 

assumed  more  ample  proportion  the  oftener  they 
were  told.  I  never  had  the  heart  to  disabuse  him 
of  the  idea  that  I  disbelieved  all  he  told  me  in  this 
regard. 

Well,  whenever  he  had  leave  to  go  ashore,  he  man- 
aged to  have  me  go  with  him.  He  was  not  at  all 
like  the  conventional  sailor  in  .appearance,  gait,  or 
conversation.  Some  men  never  get  to  be  rough  salts 
pickled  all  through,  with  a  rolling  gait  like  a  por- 
poise wallowing  in  the  sea — such  as  graduate  from 
a  war-ship ,  or  a  long  voyage  merchantman.  In  fact , 
Marson  was  a  genteel  appearing  young  fellow,  who 
might  have  been  taken  anywhere,  after  being  ashore 
for  a  few  months,  for  a  store  clerk. 

His  stories  concerning  his  catches  were  marvels 
of  absurdity.  He  had  caught  shark  in  every  part 
of  the  world,  larger,  longer,  and  more  savage  than 
had  ever  been  seen  by  any  other  person.  However, 
he  was  not  alone  in  this  inability  to  overestimate 
his  powers — the  fish-liar  is  ubiquitous. 

There  are  so  many  people  in  the  world,  upright, 
truthful  and  conscientious,  who  do  not  imagine  it 
irregular  to  exaggerate  about  their  sporting  suc- 
cess— it  is  an  amiable  weakness ,  and  one  of  the  out- 
comes of  the  genius  of  human  nature. 

There  is  a  fellowship  in  fishing  that  makes  all 
the  world  akin.  The  aristocratic  votary  of  the 
gentle  craft  will  stoop  from  his  high  estate  and 
discuss,  with  interest  and  urbanity,  the  taking 
power  of  this  or  that  bait,  the  construction  of  this 
or  that  fly,  the  various  seasons  of  the  year,  and  the 


124  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

haunts  for  fishing,  with  a  tramp,  and  lie  like  a  com- 
moner about  the  catches  he  has  made. 

Man  seems  to  have  been,  at  all  times  and  in  all 
ages,  proud  of  his  conquest  over  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  the  birds  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea. 
Story  telling  has  been  an  honored  vocation  from 
the  earliest  period  of  time,  when  troubadours  and 
minnesingers  were  the  transmitters  of  history,  song 
and  poetry.  Whatever  they  sang  or  recited  was  a 
skillful  admixture  of  truth  and  fiction,  colored  in 
obedience  to  party  prejudice,  and  to  the  tempera- 
ment of  the  narrator.  But,  it  belongs  to  the  angler, 
par  excellence,  to  make  stories  of  whole  cloth,  hav- 
ing, as  it  were,  but  two  truthful  elements,  the 
water  and  the  fact  of  fish  being  therein. 

We  take  occasion  to  offer  advice,  and  to  admonish 
all  gentle  anglers  to  beware  and  not  be  led  into 
temptation.  The  nets  of  the  Evil  One  are  always 
set,  ready  to  ensnare  the  unwary.  It  may  be  too 
late,  when  the  lying  brother  sportsman  discovers 
his  mistake  and  finds  himself  floundering  in  the 
toils  of  the  arch  fiend,  to  stretch  forth  his  imploring 
hands  for  succor  towards  those  who  have  never 
distorted  the  facts  about  their  catch,  but  who  have 
told  the  truth  to  an  ounce — as  they  understood  it. 

The  spirits  of  truthful  anglers,  their  duty  in  this 
world  being  done,  shall  sail  in  unseen  boats  to  those 
fruitful  fishing  waters,  on  that  other  shore,  where 
every  fish  is  golden,  and  which  increase  in  size,  in 
beauty,  and  in  value,  forever,  and  forever.  The 
untruthful  brother  of  the  gentle  art  shall  remain 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  125 

here,  forever,  fishing  in  troubled  waters  on  an  un- 
blessed shore. 

They  shall  thrash  the  waters  with  flies  that  never 
cause  a  rise:  they  shall  hope  on,  hope  ever,  to 
strike  the  largest  and  finest  fish,  which  they  shall1 
never  take,  but  which,  like  the  drink  of  Tantalus, 
shall  be  in  constant  view  but  never  obtainable — 
they  shall  never  catch,  nor  cease  from  trying,  but 
fish  on  to  an  unknown  fate — this  shall  be  the  end  of 
the  fish-liar. 

Before  the  ship  sailed  from  Boston,  Marson 
obtained  from  the  mate  leave  to  go  ashore,  there 
were  some  matters  yet  to  be  arranged  between  the 
captain  and  the  owners  of  the  Peri,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  ship  was  not  ready  to  sail. 

I  asked  the  mate  if  I  could  go  with  Marson. 
After  looking  me  all  over,  from  my  shoes  to  the  top 
of  my  hat,  without  speaking  a  word,  he  nodded 
Yes,  with  a  pleasant  smile  growing  about  his  lips. 
We  started  without  more  ado,  with  light  hearts,  for 
a  bit  of  vacation  before  undertaking  our  voyage  to 
the  whaling  grounds  of  the  Atlantic,  Pacific  and 
Arctic.  We  embarked  in  one  of  the  ship's  boats, 
having  a  lugger  sail,  and  filled  away  for  a  large 
island  in  the  distance.  As  soon  as  we  got  ashore 
Marson  commenced  rigging  up  his  fishing  line.  I 
had  none,  and  so  I  became  a  participating  spectator. 

"  Now,  Johnnie,"  said  my  shipmate,  "  I'll  show 
you  how  to  catch  fish,  and  big  ones,  too." 

I  hope  so,"  I  replied,  but,  having  no  faith  in 


126  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

anything  he  said,  merely  asking  "Are  you  going 
to  fish  from  the  shore  or  from  the  boat  ? " 

From  the  shore,  he  answered  without -looking  up. 

On  the  island  lived  a  few  fisher  families.  We 
commenced  fishing — that  is,  my  shipmate  did,  for, 
as  I  explained  above ,  I  had  no  tackle.  Armed  with 
a  stout  line,  himself  at  one  extremity  and  a  squid 
at  the  other,  he  invited  me  to  observe  closely  just 
how  he  did  it. 

' '  Now,"  said  he,  * '  you  take  your  line  in  this  way," 
and  all  the  time  he  was  arranging  the  tackle,  "  and 
throw  it  out  to  sea,  like  this." 

The  ocean  had  a  good  swell  on,  and  came  rolling 
up  the  beach  like  suds  thrown  from  a  washtub. 

After  getting  his  line  fixed  to  suit  him,  and  ex- 
plaining again,  "  You  see,  Johnnie,  the  fish  are  in 
deep  water,"  her  took  a  firm  hold  of  the  line  a  few 
feet  from  the  squid,  I  looking  admiringly  on,  and 
by  a  series  of  dexterous  gyrations  about  his  head , 
sent  it  flying  about  a  hundred  feet  out  to  the  sea. 
It  was  beautifully  done. 

Skillfully  he  hauled  it  in,  hand-over-hand,  the 
squid  following  like  a  living  thing,  bright  and  shim- 
mering as  when  he  had  thrown  it  out — but  no  fish 
was  attached  to  it. 

Making  ready  again,  he  said,  "  Johnnie,  I  did'nt 
happen  to  strike  him  that  time,  but  next  time  you'll 
see  a  bouncer." 

He  attempted  again,  and,  with  the  nonchalant 
manner  and  air  of  a  man  who  feels  perfectly  sure 
that  he  can  do  just  what  he  wants  to,  he  gave  the 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  127 

squid  that  preparatory  whirling  motion  again,  and 
away  it  went,  but  not  in  the  direction  he  intended. 

The  noblest  efforts  will  often  fail,  and  the  most 
skillful  are  sometimes  doomed  to  disappointment — it 
was  so  in  this  case.  The  squid  did  not  go  seaward , 
but  fastened  itself  in  the  hind  leg  of  a  too-confiding 
dog  belonging  to  the  island,  which  stood  there  with 
canine  curiosity  just  as  those  quadruped  friends  of 
man  so  often  do. 

The  animal  went  howling  away,  but  was  hauled 
in  hand-over-hand,  as  a  fish  would  have  been,  and 
the  hook  extracted.  This  surgical  operation  being 
done,  the  misguided  dog  went  whining  away  to  its 
master. 

Marson  persisted,  however,  he  knew  he  could  do 
it  and  tried  it  again,  with  as  much  preparation  as 
before  and  twice  as  much  determination.  He  missed 
the  sea  altogether,  and  the  barbed  messenger  buried 
itself  in  that  part  of  his  wearing  apparel  which 
comes  in  contact  with  the  chair,  when  he  indulged 
in  that  agreeable  and  refreshing  attitude  of  sitting 
down. 

My  shipmate  looked  disconcerted,  saying,  "  This 
isn't  a  very  good  day  for  fishing;  the  sea  is  too  rough. 
Guess  I'll  have  a  shoot." 

'cls  there  any  shooting  on  this  island?"  I  re- 
marked, not  betraying  by  a  muscle  of  my  face  but 
what  I  thought  the  failure  was  owing  to  the  rough- 
ness of  the  sea. 

"  There  must  be  duck  on  this  island,  and  it's  a  good 


128  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

day  for  duck  shooting;  the  wind  is  just  right,  if  I 
only  knew  where  to  go. " 

Just  as  he  said  this,  a  fisherman,  the  owner  of  the 
dog,  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  island,  came  along. 
When  asked  if  there  were  any  ducks  on  the  island, 
he  replied: 

1 '  I  guess  so.  There's  a  pond ,  a  shallow  one ,  about 
half  a  mile  from  here,  and  the  ducks  often  light 
there. " 

As  we  walked  off  in  the  direction  indicated,  the 
fisherman  said:  "  Say,  stranger,  let  me  go  on  ahead. 
If  you  can't  shoot  no  better 'n  you  can  fish,  I  geuss 
I  better  chain  my  dog  till  you're  gone." 

Marson  made  no  reply;  but  we  quickened  our 
steps,  reached  the  pond,  and,  secreting  ourselves  be- 
hind some  rushes,  waited  for  them  to  come — and 
waited. 

Finally  there  came,  sailing  straight  for  the  pond, 
one  of  those  round,  plump  little  ducks,  known  as 
water- witches,  or  hell-divers.  This  duck  gets  its 
name  from  its  habit  of  dodging  any  shot  sent  after 
it.  The  duck  plunged  into  the  water,  sporting 
around  without  seeming  fear,  tossing  the  water  up 
over  its  back,  which  ran  off  its  polished  plumage  in 
drops  of  diamond  brilliancy. 

With  the  feelings  of  a  true  sportsman,  wanting 
the  bird  to  have  a  fair  chance ,  and  not  wishing  to 
kill  it  while  sitting  on  the  water,  our  gunner  threw 
stones  and  turf  at  it  to  make  it  get  up;  but  it  would 
not  fly.  Taking  aim ,  Marson  fired ,  the  shot  striking 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  129 

the  water  with  a  swish  as  if  a  sudden  shower  had 
fallen  upon  it,  the  duck  diving. 

This  alternate  shooting  and  diving  continued  for  an 
hour  or  two,  the  bird  diving  each  time  at  the  flash 
of  the  gun,  and  defiantly  coming  up  to  await  the  re- 
loading of  the  old  fusee.  And  so  the  battle  continued. 

Mar  son  said  we  had  better  go  to  one  of  the  huts 
and  get  some  dinner.  We  did  so,  and  after  finish- 
ing the  meal,  returned  to  the  pond  to  renew  the  fight. 
We  found  the  duck  patiently  awaiting  our  arrival, 
busily  engaged  in  picking  the  shot  from  the  bottom 
of  the  pond,  tossing  it  up  and  catching  it  in  its  bill 
as  it  came  down. 

With  such  a  gunner,  aud  such  a  duck,  the  sport 
might  have  lasted  a  week.  Strategem  was  resorted 
to,  and,  when  the  duck  plunged  under  at  the  flash 
of  the  gun,  Nimrod  waded  out  quickly  and  struck 
the  duck,  with  the  but  of  the  gun,  as  it  appeared  on 
the  surface.  So  ended  our  leave,  and  we  returned 
to  the  ship;  within  a  week  we  were  out  on  the 
broad  Atlantic. 

I  told  the  story  to  the  first  mate,  in  confidence 
and  without  malice,  and,  the  story  being  such  a 
good  one,  the  mate  let  it  out,  when  it  became  com- 
mon property.  Often,  when  Bill  Marson,  as  the 
crew  called  him,  would  be  spinning  a  yarn,  some 
one  would  quiet  him  by  asking,  "  Bill,  which  end  o' 
your  gun  shoots  the  best? " 

In  a  half  laughing  way,  he  would  turn  to  me, 
saying,  "  Johnnie,  that  was  mean  of  you." 
(9) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  STORM. 

The  captain  was  in  a  good  humor,  as  were  the 
mates,  and  the  crew  was  as  jolly  and  happy  as  men 
could  possibly  be ,  having  a  prospect  of  two  years 
and  over  of  "  salt  horse,"  seasoned  with  a  reason- 
able hope  of  a  good  '  *  lay  "  at  the  end  of  the  voyage. 

We  had  been  very  fortunate  as  to  weather,  hav- 
ing had  nothing  in  that  way  to  necessitate  any 
work  higher  than  the  deck  except  an  occasional 
taking  in  of  royals  and  reefing  or  furling  the  top- 
sails. We  were  steering  large  under  all  plain  sail, 
with  lookouts  in  the  ' '  top  "  for  a  showing  of  whales , 
the  deck  waiting  to  hear  the  welcome  cry,  "  There 
she  blows." 

The  men  were  lolling  about  deck,  in  the  shadow 
of  the  sails,  under  a  sky  of  celestial  beauty. 
It  was  a  lovely  evening,  the  air  sweet  and  balmy 
from  a  flowing  sea  which  followed  in  our  wake  with 
tumbling  waves  capped  with  foam  and  lashed  into 
sparkling  white  caps,  which,  breaking  into  foam- 
embroidered  structures,  dropped  off  into  hollows 
between  green  hillocks  of  ocean  water,  to  mount 
again  to  other  summits  in  a  new  crest  at  the  bid- 
ding of  the  breeze. 

Now  and  again  the  wind  lulled  as  if  tired  of  its 
130 


W1IALIXG    VOYAGE.  131 

own  efforts,  bringing  the  sails  flapping  against  the 
rigid  masts:  the  ends  of  loose  rope  slapped  spite- 
fully against  whatever  happened  to  be  within  their 
reach,  while  the  unemployed  reef -points  drummed 
a  rhythm  of  fairy  music  against  the  bellying  sails. 

The  sun  was  sinking  into  the  west,  leaving  in  its 
wake  a  band  of  rosy-hued  sky.  The  weather  was 
such  as  to  arouse  whatever  of  sentiment  existed  in 
the  hearts  of  the  sailormen,  and  to  assure  the  lands- 
men among  them  that  going  to  sea  was  but  a  bit  of 
the  poetry  of  nature. 

The  stars  came  out  in  patches,  revealed  against 
an  illimitable  arch  so  beautifully  blue  as  to  preclude 
almost  the  possibility  of  such  a  thing  as  a  storm. 
Far  into  the  gathering  night  the  gentle,  murmuring 
wind  continued  its  soothing  lullaby,  the  ship  mov- 
ing along  like  a  spirit  of  the  deep  arisen  to  the 
ocean  level  to  enjoy  for  a  while  the  swelling  bil- 
lows, and  vie  in  pleasures  with  the  sprites  of  the 
upper  air.  And  so  the  night  passed. 

The  early  morning  began  by  showing  the  ugly 
side  of  ocean  life.  There  appeared  a  dark  and 
gloomy  sky,  the  sun  not  making  its  advent  in  the 
usual  glory,  not  showing  on  the  horizon  line  in  an 
effulgence  of  pink  radiance,  the  earnest  of  a  clear 
and  welcome  day,  but  above  the  line  of  sea  and 
horizon  in  a  bank  of  dark,  ominous-looking  cloud. 

Great  ragged,  tufted,  jagged  piles  of  cloud  began 
to  gather  as  if  making  an  effort  to  blot  out  the 
glories  of  the  preceding  day,  while  across  the 
untainted  portion  of  the  heavens,  black  scud  was 


132  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

driving,  giving  the  aspect  of  sea  and  sky  a  wicked 
look,  denoting  that  a  fierce  and  violent  storm  was 
brewing;  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  atmosphere 
giving  assurance  that  before  many  hours  it  would 
be  breaking  upon  us. 

There  was  a  heavy  swell  heaving  after  us  with  a 
sort  of  vibrating,  throbbing  sound  closing  in  around 
the  ship,  while  the  distance  gave  out  at  intervals  a 
bellowing  sound  which  came  to  us  in  warning 
notes. 

It  was  a  condition  of  weather  difficult  to  account 
for  except  upon  the  theory  that  we  might  be  sail- 
ing upon  the  outer  edge  of  a  cyclone.  .The  barom- 
eter was ,  unmistakable  in  its  indication  of  a  com- 
ing storm,  perhaps  a  gale,  and  there  was  little 
doubt  that  we  might  expect  to  feel  it  before  long, 
and  also,  that  it  was  time  to  be  getting  ready  to 
meet  it. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  something  like 
an  hour  after  breakfast,  the  captain  came  out  of 
his  cabin,  paced  up  and  down  the  deck  a  few  times, 
without  speaking  to  anyone,  looked  up  at  the  trim 
of  the  sails,  then  out  over,  and  around  the  tremb- 
ling sea,  as  if  forming  a  judgment  of  the  weather. 
His  eyes  finally  rested  on  the  thick  appearance  to 
the  eastward.  He  looked  a  little  perplexed,  and, 
going  up  to  the  first  mate,  whose  watch  it  was, 
said  in  a  tone  loud  enough  for  all  to  hear: 

"  Mr.  Ryder,  I  fear  we  are  going  to  have  a  streak 
of  ugly  weather.  The  barometer  has  been  unsteady 
for  a  day  or  two,  and  is  now  falling  very  rapidly." 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  133 

"It  don't  look  quite  right  over  there,  sir,"  an- 
swered the  mate ,  pointing  to  the  eastward , ' ' besides , 
the  sun  came  out  of  a  cloud  bank  this  morning; 
but  for  all  that  we  won't  get  it  this  forenoon.  I've 
seen  worse  than  that  end  in  a  summer  day." 

"Aye,"  responded  the  captain,  "but  I  am  a 
little  suspicious.  The  weather  in  these  seas  is  as 
capricious  as  a  coquette.  Better  take  in  your 
royals  and  flying  jib." 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  answered  the  mate,  shouting 
at  the  same  time  : 

"  Clew  up  royals,  jump  aloft,  men,  to  furl." 

I  bounced  into  the  fore  rigging  and  started  for 
the  fore  royal  yard  with  the  other  men,  for  I  began 
to  feel  equal  to  any  job  aloft  that  I  might  be 
ordered  to  do. 

"  Stand  by  to  take  in  and  stow  flying-jib," 
roared  Mr.  Ryder,  the  men  running  to  the  duty. 

The  royals  were  furled  ship-shape  fashion,  and 
the  jib  stowed  away  neatly  and  sailorlike,  when 
the  order  came  from  the  captain,  "  Send  down 
royals,"  which  order  was  repeated  by  the  mate. 

"  Lay  aloft  there,  bullies,  and  send  down  royals." 

While  this  was  being  done  some  of  the  men  were 
at  the  necessary  deck  work,  the  gale  meanwhile 
increasing  rapidly,  indicating  a  "snorter,"  as 
sailors  say,  when  the  orders  were  given  in  succes- 
sion : 

'  *  Haul  down  mizzen  to'gallant  and  main  to'gal- 
lant-staysails."  "  Clew  up  gaff- topsail,"  which 


134  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

was  done  with  a  will,  and  "  Clew  up  fore  to'gallant- 
sail." 

"Haul  down  mizzen  topmast-staysail."  "  Clew 
up  main  to'gallant-staysail. " 

"Jump  aloft  there,  my  men,  and  furl  fore  to'- 
gallant-stay sails  and  main  to'gallantsails."  "  Furl 
gafftopsail. " 

The  wind  was  now  rattling  eyerything  that  hap- 
pened to  be  loose,  and  howling  through  the  rigging, 
threatening  to  tear  away  what  sail  we  were  yet 
carrying. 

"  I  expect  we'll  have  to  strip  her,  Mr.  Ryder. 
The  gale  seems  to  be  increasing.  Take  in  main 
topmast-staysail,  and  upper-topsails." 

"Lively,  men,"  yelled  Mr.  Ryder, "  haul  down 
main  topmast-staysail/'  "  Slack  down  upper  fore 
and  main  topsails." 

"All  ready?"  * 

"All  ready,  sir." 

"  Lay  aloft,  men,  lay  aloft,  to  furl  topsails." 

"  All  was  hurry  and  confusion.  The  deck  was 
washed  from  stem  to  taffrail,  the  water  choking 
up  in  the  lee  scuppers;  ends  of  rope  were  writhing 
about  the  deck,  the  spars  were  groaning  in  unison 
with  the  swing  of  the  yards,  the  creaking  of  blocks, 
and  rattle  of  chains.  The  noise  was  deafening,  and 
all  talking  had  to  be  done  in  loud  tones. 

"We  must  take  in  everything.  It's  a  nasty 
blow,  Mr.  Ryder." 

"  It  is,  that,  indeed,  sir,"  struggled  Ryder's  voice 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  135 

above  the  roar  of  the  wind.     The  stentorian  tones 
of  the  captain  overtopped  the  howling  storm: 

"Haul  up  mainsail."  "Brail  up  spanker." 
"  Down  with  jib,"  and  then  out  of  the  roar  of  the 
storm,  as  if  Neptune  himself  were  in  command, 
"Furl  mainsail."  "Furl  spanker."  "Stow  the 
jib."  This  being  done,  the  mate  suggested  to  the 
captain,  "  Better  take  in  something  more,  Captain 
Folsom.  I  don't  think  she'll  carry  what's  on  her." 

1 '  All  right.  Haul  up  f orecourse. "  ' '  Clew  up 
lower  fore  topsail. "  "  Goose  wing  maintopsail. " 

Meanwhile  all  hands  were  at  work  either  on 
deck  or  aloft,  the  ship  was  tearing  through  sea  and 
foam,  pitching  and  rolling  as  though  impatient  of 
the  sail  she  yet  carried,  when  Captain  Folsom 
ordered  : 

"  Furl  mainsail,  Mr.  Ryder,  and  furl  lower  fore- 
topsail."  "  Shake  goose  wing  and  furl  lower  main- 
topsail."  "  I  hope  she'll  carry  what's  on  her  now." 

I  think  she's  running  a  little  unsteady,  sir,"  an- 
swered Mr.  Ryder. 

"Well,"  ordered  the  captain,  "  clear  away 'and 
hoist  main  staysail."  "  Hoist  fore  staysail." 

We  were  now  running  under  fore  and  main  stay- 
sails, the  sea  running  wild  and  driving  the  Peri  into 
mad  plunges,  and  every  plunge  sending  a  deluge  of 
sea  swashing  over  the  deck,  fore  and  aft,  the  figure- 
head emerging  from  every  sea  with  undiminished 
gaze  seaward,  looking  as  new  and  bright  as  varnish, 
and  complacent  as  if  riding  out  a  summer  sea. 
The  oilbag  was  swung  from  the  weather  cat- 


136  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

head,  leaving  a  wake  of  gloss  in  the  ship's  track, 
that  stilled  the  sea  to  a  very  great  extent.  The 
wind  had  now  increased  beyond  the  force  of  a  storm 
and  become  a  gale.  The  demons  on  the  wind 
screamed  their  anger  through  the  rigging  with  a 
howl  of  devastation,  threatening  to  carry  the  spars 
over  the  side  and  leave  the  old  ship  a  hulk  on  the 
ocean. 

The  men  held  on  as  best  they  could,  and  we  waited 
in  suspense  and  agony  to  see  what  would  happen 
next:  to  see  if  we  should  be  obliged  to  strip  the 
vessel  and  scud  under  bare  poles,  or  heave  to  and 
take  the  chances  of  riding  out  the  storm.  Ocean's 
wrath  seemed  let  loose  for  destruction. 

The  wind  struck  the  ship  in  a  solid  wall,  laden 
with  a  deluge  of  rain,  driving,  pitiless,  pelting  and 
cold.  Darkness  increased,  and  chaos  seemed  come 
again.  The  good  old  fabric  groaned,  struggled,  and 
writhed  to  outride  the  gale.  The  sea- washed  decks 
threatened  every  moment  to  take  the  men,  stout  of 
heart  as  the  timbers  of  their  ocean  home ,  off  their 
feet  and  send  them  to  briny  graves.  The  black 
pinions  of  death  flapped  over  the  trembling  ribs  of 
the  devoted  Peri. 

The  gale  lasted  all  through  the  day  and  night 
without  diminution.  After  daylight  it  began  to  di- 
minish in  force  somewhat,  but  continued  in  heavy 
squalls  until  along  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  the  rain  ceased,  the  wind  died  down,  and 
the  sun  attempted  to  struggle  through  flying  clouds 
of  dense  blackness  and  thick  weather. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  137 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  sun  con- 
quered by  bursting  through  the  storm-clouds,  dis- 
pelling them,  and  appearing  in  all  the  splendor  of 
that  cheering  light  of  the  world. 

The  main  and  fore  topsails  were  loosed  and  sheeted 
home:  the  jib  hauled  down  and  tautened  aft,  the 
fore  course  dropped,  made  fast,  and  stiffened  with 
the  bowlines,  the  spanker  unfurled  and  hauled  out, 
and  the  fore-staysail  furled.  The  main  course  was 
set,  the  main-staysail  taken  in,  and  the  flying  jib 
put  on. 

While  sail  was  being  made,  a  general  snugging  up 
of  the  deck  was  going  on  by  some  of  the  men;  the 
remaining  part  of  the  crew  engaged  in  putting  on 
more  sail.  The  fore  and  main  to'gallantsails  were 
set,  as  were  the  main  to'gallant-staysails ,  and  the 
mizzen  topmast-staysails  sent  up. 

Royals  were  sent  up  and  set,  mizzen  to'gallant- 
staysail,  and  fore-royal  sheeted  home,  the  main  bow- 
lines hauled  out  and  the  yards  braced  sharp  up, 
with  the  wind  forward  of  the  waist. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  COOK'S  MONKEY  AGAIN. 

The  passing  away  of  the  storm  and  the  sight  of 
the  sun  was  inspiriting  to  the  officers  and  men,  the 
crew  working  away  diligently,  cleaning  up  decks 
and  putting  in  ship-shape  what  the  storm  and  con- 
fusion had  disarranged,  while  the  Peri  walked 
proudly  off  under  all  plain  sail  as  if  there  had  been 
no  threatening  disturbance. 

Luckily  nothing  had  been  carried  away,  not  a 
thread  of  either  sails  or  rigging  damaged.  The 
hen-coop,  however,  had  been  broken  from  its  fast- 
enings, a  serious  matter  at  sea,  and  the  fowls  sent 
flying  and  struggling  in  our  wake.  It  was  the  first 
storm  I  had  experienced,  and,  to  me,  had  been  a 
very  serious  affair. 

I  was  at  work  scrubbing  up  the  deck,  my  feet 
bare  and  trousers  rolled  up  to  my  knees,  armed 
with  a  mop.  Ned  Ricks  was  close  to  me,  and  com- 
menced talking  in  his  peculiar  soft  accents,  loud 
enough,  however,  for  me  to  hear  distinctly. 

"Quickstep,"  he  said,  "you  think  that  wus  a 
storm,  don't. ye,"  looking  at  me  with  a  knowing 
expression  on  his  singular  countenance,  "but  that 
wusn't  nothin'  to  what  ye'll  git  when  it  blows  a 
harrycane,  or  a  cyclocane,  an'  ye'r  'bliged  to  sail 
under  bare  poles  with  nary  a  rag." 

138 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  13!) 

"Well,':  I  replied,  "that  is  storm  enough  for 
me;  but  if  there  comes  a  stiflfer  one  I'll  take  my 
chances  with  the  rest  of  you." 

"flight  ye  aire,  my  lad.  I  didn't  mean  fer  to 
skeer.ye.  I'll  tell  ye  what,  Quickstep,  there's  goin' 
to  be  a  jolly  row  atwixt  the  cook  an'  thet  ere 
Frenchy  afore  this  ere  vyage  is  up,  all  along  o*  thet 
ere  monkey*'' 

"  Who  says  that?" 

"  Nob'dy,  didn't  say  it.  I  heerd  the  cook  a 
gTiimblin'  to  hisself,  an*  him  an*  Frenchy's  had 
some  fights  in  words.  Frenchy  chucks  out  some 
kind  o"  er  slur  ev'ry  time  he  passes  the  galley,  but 
's  yet  'taint  broke  out." 

This  set  me  to  thinking,  and  I  remarked  to 
Ricks  : 

"  I  would  be  very  sorry  to  see  it;  and  if  I  thought 
I  could  stop  it  before  it  goes  any  further,  I  would 
speak  to  the  mate  about  it  and  prevent  it." 

"  What  I  ses,  Quickstep,  is  thet  it  won't  do  not 
no  good  to  interfere  atween  sailors  when  they  gits 
riled,  cause  they've  got  to  hev  it  out.  It's  like  try- 
in'  to  stop  a  man  a  beatin'  o'  his  wife,  the  woman 
gine rally  turns  on  ye  an'  scratches  your  eyes 
out." 

"  Well,  I've  a  mind  to  try  it.  You  know  Pedro 
has  a  murderous  temper." 

"  I  knows  thet  ye  means  well,"  said  Ricks,  "  but 
it  wouldn't  do  not  no  good.  Howsumdever ,  I  wisht 
ye  would,  fur  I  kinder  hates  to  see  two  men  a' 
fightin',  'specially  'bout  a  bloomin'  animal  what 


140  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

ain't  human.  But  the  wust  on't  is  thet  I  can't 
stan'  by  an'  see  a  man  killed  'thout  interferin',  an 
ef  the  cook  gits  after  thet  ere  Frenchy  he'll  make 
short  work  on't." 

"  We  must  try  and  prevent  it,  but  if  it  ,were 
certain  that  neither  of  them  would  be  hurt,  it 
would  be  much  better  to  let  them  have  it  out." 

"  '  Course  it  would,  cause,  ef  men  fights,  no  mat- 
ter who  gits  the  wust  on't,  they  gits  to  be  good 
frens  arterwards  —  'specially  ef  they  both  gits 
licked  about  the  same." 

"  The  man  Frenchy,"  I  continued,  "  seems  to  be  a 
harmless  sort  of  fellow.  The  monkey  stole  his  din- 
ner, and  that  is  a  serious  loss  to  a  sailorrnan." 

"  So  'tis,  so  'tis;  but  thet  wusn't  not  no  justice 
to  cut  off  the  monkey's  tail  off;  thet  ere  was  crulty. 
What  orter  hev  been  done  was  to  make  the  cook 
give  up  some  o'  his  own  dinner  to  Frenchy,  an  the 
cook  go  'thout  any." 

(<  But  tell  me,  Tom,"  I  asked,  "  what  have  either 
of  them  done,  since  the  affair  of  the  monkey  steal- 
ing the  Frenchman's  dinner,  to  aggravate  each 
other  ? " 

' '  Frenchy  ses  as  how  thet  the  cook  fixes  the 
wit  ties  so  's  he  gits  the  wust  part  of  the  mess,  an* 
'sides,  thet  he  don't  git  his  share  an'  share  alike; 
when  he  goes  past  the  galley  he  'ludes  to  the  mon- 
key's tail  an'  all  that.  Thet's  wery  aggravokin, 
thet  is,  ye  know;  an'  I'm  afeered  that  ef  the  cook 
gits  in  one  o'  his  tantrums  thet  Frenchy's  life  ain't 
wuth  much." 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  141 

These  side-plays  continued  between  Pedro  and 
Frenchy  until  it  was  only  a  question  of  a  short 
time  when  there  must  be  a  settlement  between 
them.  One  day  there  had  been  quite  a  heavy 
shower,  and  the  deck  was  wet  and  slippery. 
Pedro  had  stretched  a  line  across  the  back  of  the 
galley  upon  which  he  had  hung  some  cloths  to 
dry.  Frenchy  came  along,  and,  making  believe 
to  stumble,  tore  the  line  loose,  letting  the  cloths 
fall  to  the  wet  and  grimy  deck.  Pedro  sprang  out 
of  the  galley,  looking  like  a  demon — his  face  was 
fiendish. 

"  Wa*  bisness  you  got  to  frow  down  my  line  on 
de  deck  ? "  demanded  Pedro. 

"  Aha,  vat  for  ze  damn  monkey  steal  rny  horse 
an'  run  up  ze  riggin'.  Ze  nex-a-time  he  make  so 
to  me,  by  gar,  I  cut  ze  head  off,  zen  he  no  eat 
horse  encore." 

The  cook  started  for  the  Frenchman,  saying  in 
tones  of  extreme  anger  : 

* '  Ef  yo  tech  dat  monkey  agin'  I  frow  ye  ober  de 
ship's  rail." 

As  he  said  this  he  advanced.  Frenchy  drew  his 
sheath  knife,  and  made  a  murderous  pass  at  the 
cook.  Pedro  seized  his  antagonist  by  both  wrists, 
wrenching  them  until  Frenchy  dropped  the  knife 
upon  the  deck,  when,  seizing  the  Frenchman  by 
the  neck  and  seat  of  the  trousers,  he  raised  him 
above  his  head  as  if  he  were  a  feather,  and  started 
to  the  port  rail  with  the  intention  of  throwing  him 


142  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

overboard — which  he  would  have  done  had  he  not 
been  prevented. 

This  was  all  enacted  in  a  few  seconds,  and  began 
and  ended  almost  before  the  mate,  (the  captain  not 
being  on  deck,)  knew  anything  of  it.  If  Pedro's 
attempt  had  not  been  arrested  in  time  Frenchy 
would  have  been  tossed  into  the  sea,  and  Pedro, 
with  whom  all  the  men  were  in  sympathy,  would 
have  been  a  murderer. 

But,  just  at  the  moment  when  the  Frenchman  was 
raised  high  above  the  cook's  head,  Ned  Ricks 
rushed  in,  seized  the  black  by  the  shoulder,  whirled 
him  around  toward  the  galley,  grabbed  the  victim 
and  hauled  both  down  to  the  deck,  holding  them 
there.  The  cook  tugged,  mad  with  passion,  with 
all  his  great  strength,  to  get  possession  of  the 
frightened  and  ghostly -pale  Frenchman. 

I  never  saw  such  tenacity,  such  superhuman 
strength  as  was  exhibited  by  Ricks.  He  was  slight 
of  build;  but,  when  in  a  good  cause,  he  proved  a 
giant.  The  fracas  brought  the  captain  out  of  his 
cabin,  and  he  ordered  Pedro  into  the  galley  and 
sent  the  Frenchman  off  on  some  duty  at  the  other 
end  of  the  ship. 

Captain  Folsom  went  to  his  quarters,  and  in  a 
few  moments  thereafter  sent  the  steward  for  the 
first  mate.  When  that  officer  appeared  the  cap- 
tain learned  all  the  particulars  of  the  disturbance, 
and  then  ordered  both  men  to  be  sent  aft.  Both 
appeared,  and  an  investigation  took  place. 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  143 

''Mr.  Ryder,"  commenced  the  captain,  "who 
commenced  this  quarrel  ? " 

"  I  don't  rightly  know,  sir.  It  seems  it  has  been 
brewing  for  a  long  time,  and  only  broke  out  to- 
day. "  Turning  to  the  cook ,  Captain  Folsom  said  : 

"Pedro,  let  me  hear  your  story."  The  cook 
turned  a  few  shades  paler,  a  sort  of  ash-gray, 
answering : 

' '  Wall ,  sah ,  ye  see  I  has  a  monkey  on  dis  yere 
ship,  an'  he  wus  reg'lar  shipped  at  de  time  dat  I 
wus.  Wall,  sah,  one  day  dis  yere  Frenchy  done 
got  his  kid  wid  his  dinner  in  it,  an'  sot  it  down  on 
de  deck.  Jis*  den,  Jabo,  dat's  my  monkey,  kem 
along,  an',  de  mess  bein'  cooked  fus-class,  de 
monkey  help  hisaelf  to  de  meat  part  of  de  mess. 
Wall,  sah,  dis  yere  Frenchy,  he  cut  off  de  tail  ob 
de  monkey,  an5  ruin  him  for  life." 

"  Then  it  was  all  about  the  monkey?"  inquired 
the  captain. 

"  Yes,  sah.  Ef  de  monkey  had  been  lef  alone  I 
would  'er  made  dat  meat  good  outen  my  own  mess." 

"  Let  me  hear  your  story,  my  man,"  said  Cap- 
tain Folsom,  turning  to  the  Frenchman. 

<c  Monsieur  Capitaine,  zat  monkey  is  one  mauvais 
monkey.  He  tell  ze  lie;  he  steal  ze  viande,  he 
steal-a  my  dinnaire,  an'  run  up  ze  riggin'  to  ze 
topsail  yard  avec  my  horse.  Ven  he  come  down 
encore  I  chop  ze  tail  off,  a  leetle  bit.  Ah,  mon  Dieut 
mon  capitaine,  he  ver  honest  since  zat  time;  he  no 
steal  mon  cheval  encore.'' 

The  mate  was  present  at  this  examination,  hardly 


144  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

able  to  suppress  his  laughter.  The  captain  being  in 
the  same  condition,  said  to  the  mate  : 

"  We  cannot  do  without  the  services  of  the  cook. 
We  must  eat.  Put  the  Frenchman  in  irons,  below, 
until  such  time  as  he  promises  not  to  create  another 
disturbance  on  board  this  ship,  and  have  the  mon- 
key, the  cause  of  all  the  row,  thrown  overboard." 

The  Frenchman  was  taken  away,  protesting  that 
the  cook  was  in  fault,  and  promising,  in  a  vociferous 
way,  that  he  would  not  in  future  break  the  peace 
of  the  ship;  but  he  was  ironed  all  the  same  and  sent 
below. 

Pedro  was  in  despair  that  he  was  going  to  lose  his 
pet,  and  to  lose  him  in  this  way.  He  begged  the 
captain  not  to  have  Jabo  thrown  overboard ;  but  that 
officer  was  inexorable— the  thing  must  be  done; 
discipline  must  be  maintained. 

All  the  men  were  down  in  the  mouth  that  the 
affair  had  terminated  in  this  way,  for  Jabo  was  a 
pet  of  all  the  crew  except  Frenchy,  especially 
since  the  reformation  of  the  animal.  Indeed,  I 
think  the  crew  had  experienced  a  sort  of  grim 
pleasure  that  the  monkey  had  stolen  the  French- 
man's dinner.  The  men  finally  prevailed  on  Mr. 
Ryder  to  go  to  the  cabin  and  try  to  change  the 
sentence  of  the  monkey  to  one  of  banishment  at 
the  first  place  the  ship  touched. 

Mr.  Ryder  was  in  earnest  and  went  to  quarters 
with  the  following  result. 

"  Captain,"  began  the  mate,  with  a  preliminary 
cough  or  two,  "  the  men  are  dreadfully  worked  up 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  145 

about  tin1  sentence  of  the  monkey,  and  I  feel  myself, 
as  if  the  animal  is  in  no  way  responsible,  nor  a  party 
to  the  fracas." 

The  captain  looked  as  grave  as  possible/remember- 
ing the  scene  in  the  cabin,  and  answered:  "Mr. 
Ryder,  I  will  have  discipline  on  this  ship,  if  I  have 
to  put  half  the  crew  in  irons.  There  is  no  other 
way  to  punish  the  cook.  Suppose  that  Hercules, 
Pedro,  had  thown  the  man  over  the  rail  into  the  sea, 
and  he  had  been  drowned.  I  should  then  have  been 
obliged  to  imprison  him  and  keep  him  in  confinement 
until  we  reached  some  port  where  there  is  an  Ameri- 
can consul." 

"  That's  all  true  sir,  but—" 

"  No  buts,  if  you  please.  I  will  hear  no  more, 
sir/'  testily  replied  the  captain.  "  See  that  my 
orders  are  obeyed.  As  to  the  monkey,  see  the  sen- 
tence executed  before  noon  to-morrow.  I  hope  the 
Frenchman  is  already  in  durance." 

"  All  right,  sir,"  said  the  mate,  leaving  the  cabin 
to  go  forward. 

Pedro  declared  that  if  the  monkey  were  'thrown 
overboard  he  would  jump  after  him  and  drown 
also.  Finally,  after  much  palaver  among  the  men, 
a  round-robin  was  prepared,  all  the  men  signing  it, 
including  Frenchy,  asking  that  the  life  of  the  mon- 
key be  spared ;  and  Ben  Bosun  was  deputed  to  face 
the  captain  with  it. 

Ben  mustered  up  his  courage,  rolled  his  way  aft 
to  the  cabin,  holding  the  round-robin  almost  at  arm's 


146  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

length,  as  if  he  were  afraid  it  would  explode  before 
the  captain  touched  a  match  to  it.  Stopping  at  the 
companion  way,  he  gave  his  trousers  a  preparatory 
hitch,  adjusted  his  quid,  so  that  his  brains  might  not 
be  alist,  and  entered  the  sacred  precinct  aft. 

Captain  Folsom  looked  quizzically  at  him.  ' '  Well , 
what  brings  you  here ,  my  man  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Ye  see,  sir,"  said  Ben,  quite  abashed,  "  the  crew, 
sir,  to  a  man,"  (here  he  broke  down  and  commenced 
twirling  his  cap  in  a  nervous  manner,)  "  the  crew, 
sir,  wants  ter  present  the  case  o'  thet  bloomin'  mon- 
key, like  this  'ere,  sir.  They  ses  as  how  they  all  likes 
him,  the  monkey,  an'  is  all  willin'to  do  extra  work 
an'  all  thet,  sir,  ef  ye'll  change  thet  'ere  sentence  to 
imprisonment  fur  life  in  the  galley,  along  o'  the 
cook." 

The  captain  smiled  grimly,  which  Ben  was  too 
earnest  to  take  notice  of,  and  sent  for  the  mate  to 
come  to  the  cabin.  Meanwhile ,  Ben  chewed  his  quid , 
as  if  for  a  wager.  When  the  mate  arrived  the  cap- 
tain explained. 

11  Mr.  Ryder,  the  men  have  petitioned  for  the  life 
of  the  monkey.  I  know,  of  course,  that  the  animal 
is  not  responsible,  and  that  the  sentence  was  severe, 
but  it  is  the  only  way  to  punish  the  cook.  Now,  I 
will  do  this.  If  the  men  will  pledge  themselves  that 
there  shall  be  no  more  murderous  quarrels,  and 
Frenchy  and  the  cook  will  shake  hands  and  be 
friends,  I  will  agree  that  the  monkey  shall  be 
spared." 

Ben,  the  entreating  ambassador,  was  sent  forward, 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  147 

full  of  importance,  on  this  amicable  mission.  He 
returned  in  a  short  time,  saying,  in  substance,  that 
the  men  were  all  agreed,  and  the  forecastle  would 
see  that  both  parties  kept  the  compact.  The  cap- 
tain turned  to  Mr.  Ryder,  wifh  a  merry  twinkle  in 
his  eye,  as  if  he  had  worked  it  out  about  as  he 
intended. 

"  That  was  a  very  narrow  escape  of  the  monkey, 
Mr.  Ryder." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  mate,  "  and  a  narrower 
one  for  the  Frenchman,"  as  if  he  saw  no  humor  at 
all  in  the  whole  thing. 

"  But  who, "asked  the  captain,  with  mock  gravity, 
"  will  be  security  for  the  good  behavior  of  the  men  ? " 

Ben  looked  at  the  captain,  then  at  the  mate,  as 
if  he  were  the  only  responsible  party  on  board  the 
ship,  and  volunteered. 

"  Why,  sir,  as  to  thet  ere  matter,  sir,  I'm  willin' 
to  go  bail.  I've  got  a  matter  o*  a  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  in  the  Seaman's  Savin*  Union,  an'  ef  any  thin' 
happens  to  this  ere  ship,  through  the  crew,  I'll  pay 
for  her. "  Having  delivered  himself  of  this  generous 
offer,  he  left  the  cabin,  well  satisfied  with  himself, 
and  went  forward  to  report. 

Shortly  after  this  settlement,  I  saw  Ricks  coiling 
away  some  loose  rope ,  when  I  accosted  him.  ' '  Ned , 
I  am  glad  you  saved  the  Frenchman's  life;  it  was 
noble  of  you." 

11  I'm  glad  too,  Quickstep;  but,  atwixt  you  and 
ine,  I  b'leve  the  monkey's  the  best  mano'  the  two. 
I  didn't  never  like  Frenchy,  no  how,  but  I  kinder 


148  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

didn't  like  to  see  a  human  a-goin'  over  the  ship's  side 
to  be  drownded." 

So  ended  the  affair  of  the  cook's  monkey.  Al- 
though he  was  quite  a  factor  in  the  ship's  disturb- 
ances, he  was,  of  course,  unconscious  of  his  agency. 
He  went  on  as  usual,  doing  just  what  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  do,  except  that  he  stole  no  more  meat 
nor  went  aloft,  using  his  tail  in  its  prehensile  quality. 

Considering  the  termination  of  the  row  between 
the  cook  and  Frenchy,  the  remembrance  of  it  was 
a  cause  of  much  humor  and  amusement,  quietly, 
both  in  the  forecastle  and  in  the  cabin. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CHASING     WHALES. 

WE  were  now  cruising  in  latitude  about  23° 
South,  longtitude  39°  West,  a  whaling  ground 
known  to  be  one  where  whales  are  plentiful  some- 
times— especially  sperm.  The  Peri  was  moving 
along  under  easy  sail  with  a  watch  at  the  mast- 
head on  the  lookout  for  game.  The  weather  was 
clear,  hot  as  a  gridiron,  with  light  wind,  but 
that  breathing  health. 

At  every  puff  that  struck  the  ship  the  sails  gave 
a  remonstrant  slap  against  the  unresisting  spars. 

As  yet  we  had  not  seen  a  whale,  but,  being  a 
reputed  good  ground  for  sperm  whale,  our  daily 
hope,  I  may  say  prayer,  was  to  raise  one  or  more — 
that  is,  to  see  a  spout,  and  hear  the  welcome  cry 
from  the  masthead,  "  There  she  blows." 

Every  man  and  boy  on  board  was  all  anxiety  and 
impulse  to  get  at  the  prey.  Those  who  had  been 
in  pursuit  of  the  monster  on  other  voyages  were 
eager  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  chase,  and  those 
who  were  green  were  in  a  state  of  expectancy 
from  what  they  had  heard  of  forecastle  yarning. 
Besides  all  this  the  men  were  on  a  "lay," 
which  means  no  catch,  no  pay,  except  what  is  re- 
ceived from  the  advance  pay ,  and  from  the  ' '  slop 

149 


150  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

chest,"  Whales  and  their  capture  meant  wages 
at  the  end  of  the  voyage — so,  all  was  excitement, 
from  the  captain  down  to  the  ships'  boy.  The  pay 
is  all  prospective,  that  is,  a  certain  proportion  of 
the  value  of  the  catch,  when  sold,  on  the  return  of 
the  ship  to  the  sailing  port. 

Everything  a  man  needs  when  at  sea  is  furnished 
from  a  storeroom  called  the  "slop  chest,"  and 
charged  to  his  account,  to  be  paid  for  when  the 
voyage  is  closed  and  the  ship  returns  to  the  home 
port,  when  a  settlement  is  had. 

Whatever  a  man  may  have  drawn  during  the 
voyage  is  deducted  from  the  value  of  his  "lay," 
the  basis  of  settlement  being  the  value  of  the  cargo, 
fixed  and  agreed  upon  when  the  crew  sign  articles. 

It  often  happens,  however,  that  there  is  no  catch, 
or  very  little,  the  vessel  returning  home  "clean," 
or  empty.  In  that  case  the  advance,  and  what 
clothing  a  man  may  have  drawn,  is  all  he  gets,  the 
owner  making  all  the  losses. 

The  wages,  if  any,  are  comprised  in  "  long  lays," 
and  "short  lays."  The  captain  and  other  officers 
get  the  short  ones,  which  are  the  best,  the  long 
ones  falling  to  the  lot  of  the  men  in  proportion  to 
their  respective  grades  on  board  the  ship. 

Under  this  lottery  system  of  wages  the  owner 
takes  a  risk  greater  than  that  of  the  crew,  for  the 
reason  that  if  the  ship  returns  "  clean,"  he  loses 
all,  while  the  men  lose  their  time,  getting  nothing 
except  what  they  are  ahead  on  the  ' '  slop  chest " 
and  advance  pay. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  151 

During  the  voyage ,  the  cargo  is  at  the  risk  of 
the  crew,  and  if  lost  there  is  nothing  to  be  divided. 
But  as  soon  as  the  cargo  leaves  the  ship  it  is  in 
possession  of  the  owner,  being  then,  generally, 
insured  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned. 

The  agreement  of  what  the  lay  shall  be  depends 
something  upon  the  size  of  the  vessel,  how  many 
boats  she  carries,  which  is  to  a  certain  extent  the 
measure  of  the  size  of  the  crew,  and  other  circum- 
stances. 

A  usual  scheme  of  wages  is  about  as  follows  : 
Captain,  one-twelfth;  first  mate,  one-twentieth; 
seeond  mate,  one-thirtieth;  third  mate,  one-forty  - 
iifth;  fifth  mate,  who  is  generally  a  boats teerer, 
one-sixty-fifth;  boatsteerer,  one-eightieth;  cooper, 
one-fiftieth;  cook ,  one-one  hundred  and  twentieth; 
steward,  one-one  hundredth;  blacksmith,  one-one 
hundred  and  sixtieth;  foremast  hands,  one-one 
hundred  and  sixty-fifth,  and  green  hands  one-one 
hundred  and  eightieth. 

In  addition  to  deductions  made  from  the  "lay" 
of  the  crew  is  the  cost  of  loading  the  vessel  and 
discharging  the  cargo,  about  twelve  dollars  each. 
This,  however,  varies,  according  to  circumstances. 
It  is  not  very  often  that  ships  return  "clean;" 
there  is  always  enough  to  cover  expenses,  and  save 
owners,  unless  something  extraordinary  happens 
to  break  up  all  calculations.  Sometimes  the  vessel 
is  wrecked,  sometimes  delayed  for  some  reason 
over  which  captains  have  no  control. 

The  captain  generally  makes  the  crew  understand 


152  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

that  he  is  going  to  take  command  of  the  ship  and 
that  no  one  must  have  an  opinion  but  himself, 
unless  he  asks  for  one  from  one  of  his  officers. 
The  demands  of  the  captain,  in  this  respect,  cannot 
be  better  understood  than  to  give  them  in  the 
words  of  a  writer  on  the  whale  fisheries,  in  which 
he  supposes  a  captain  addressing  the  crew  just 
before  sailing: 

"  Now,  my  men,  I  suppose  you  ail  know  what 
we  are  here  for.  We  have  started  for  a  cargo  of 
oil,  and  I  expect  every  man  will  do  his  best.  First, 
I  want  a  good,  sharp,  lookout  kept,  and  sing  out 
for  everything  you  see.  Go  when  you  are  sent, 
come  when  you  are  called,  and  always  repeat  the 
order  given  you.  You  shall  have  enough  to  eat  of 
what  is  in  the  ship,  but  I  want  nothing  wasted.  If 
your  food  is  not  properly  cooked,  or  if  you  do  not 
get  enough  of  it,  come  to  me,  and  I  will  see  that 
you  do  have  enough,  and  that  it  is  properly  cooked. 
I  want  no  growling  with  the  cook.  No  fighting  on 
board.  If  any  of  you  want  to  fight,  come  to  me, 
and  I  will  attend  to  your  case.  Now,  boatsteerers, 
your  place  is  abaft  the  try-works,  bear  that  in 
mind.  I  want  you  to  sing  out  for  everything  you 
see  from  the  masthead  if  it  is  nothing  more  than  a 
porpoise.  You  will  have  two  chances ;  if  you  miss 
them,  you  cannot  have  any  more  aboard  this  ship." 

The  above  is  about  what  our  captain  acted;  he  said 
not  much,  he  was  not  a  talker,  and  consequently, 
everyone  was  on  the  lookout.  There  was  nothing 
in  sight,  and  all  were  blue.  Captain  Folsora  looked 


WJIALIXO   VOYAGE.  153 

as  glum  as  if  he  were  attending  the  funeral  of  a 
rich  relation  without  hope  of  having  been  remem- 
bered, and  the  crew  .was  in  a  state  of  general  dis- 
appointment. 

If  there  is  one  place  more  calculated  to  develope 
the  various  crooked  places  in  the  nature  of  men 
than  another,  that  spot  is  the  narrow  limits  of  a 
ship,  from  stem  to  stern.  Things  trifling  in  them- 
selves that  might  and  do  occur  out  in  the  broad 
wide  world  without  attention,  become  unbearable 
when  happening  day  after  day  on  shipboard,  allow- 
ing all  the  space  from  cathead  to  taffrail,  and 
beam  from  port  to  starboard  rail,  the  forecastle 
included. 

The  men  think  it  their  special  province  to 
"  growl,"  and  each  man's  growl  has  a  separate  and 
independent  character  of  its  own ,  shaped  after  the 
individuality  of  the  growler.  One  gives  his  opinion, 
without  solicitation,  in  no  complimentary  terms  of 
the  * '  salt  horse3'  and  other  fare  with  which  he  is 
furnished,  another  has  decided  views  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  fok'sle  and  its  pleasures  of  rats  and 
roaches,  especially  those  black,  winged  roaches,  as 
large  as  a  torn- tit,  which  flit  through  the  vitiated 
atmosphere  reeking  with  bad  odors,  created  in  part 
by  the  single  swinging  slush  lamp  which  but  serves 
to  make  darkness  more  visible;  a  third  is  full  of 
superstition,  putting  forth  in  bad  English  in  an 
oracular  way  all  sorts  of  prognostics,  condemning 
the  ship,  the  voyage,  the  captain  and  mates,  and, 
nearly  always  on  a  whaler,  these  moods  take  color 


v  8  8 


154  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

from  the  inactivity  occasioned  by  the  absence  of 
the  prey  which  they  have  come  in  search  of,  and 
on  which  depends  whether  they  will  be  richer  or 
poorer  when  the  voyage  comes  to  an  end. 

The  returned  whaleman  always  growls  at  his 
"  lay,"  be  it  much  or  little.  If  it  is  a  "  long  lay," 
he  believes  it  should  have  been  a  short  one,  and  in 
any  event  he  is  sure  it  should  have  been  much 
more,  and  religiously  believes  he  has  been  cheated; 
if  the  vessel  returns  with  a  part  cargo,  he  as  firmly 
thinks  he  has  been  swindled.  Jack  is  not  a  busi- 
nessman, and  hence  does  not  comprehend  a  system 
of  bookkeeping  that  leaves  him  nothing  after  he 
has  put  in  his  two  or  three  years  time  on  board- 
ship. 

They  all  declare,  seasoned  with  profanity,  that 
never  again  will  a  whaler  catch  them.  But,  not- 
withstanding this,  he  is  off  again  on  the  same  ship, 
perhaps,  with  nothing  but  a  former  experience  to 
back  him  up.  If  you  ask  him  why  he  has  shipped 
again,  he  will  give  you  no  answer,  probably,  except 
that  here  he  is.  But  in  the  recesses  of  his  slow 
working  brain  there  is  a  dim  spectre  that  he  may 
get  even  somehow. 

An  able  bodied  seaman  named  Hawsrig,  one  of 
the  crew  of  the  Peri ,  a  hulking  fellow  given  to 
"sojering"  and  other  marine  tricks  to  escape 
duty  as  much  as  possible,  was  one  of  those  men  who 
always  shipped  again. 

He  was  indulging  in  a  prolonged  growl  one  night 
in  the  middle  watch.  We  were  lying  in  shelter  of 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  K>5 

the  boat-davits,  from  which  a  boat  was  hanging, 
when  this  fellow  abruptly  asked: 

"  Johnnie,  what  did  ye  come  to  sea  for  ?" 

"  Because  I  wanted  to  be  a  sailor,"  I  replied. 

"  Ye  11  be  sorry  ye  ever  was  a  sailorman,  least- 
wise, a  fok'sle  hand." 

I  did  not  care  to  have  his  views  as  to  myself,  so 
I  set  him  to  talking  by  asking  him  why  he  had 
shipped,  when  he  let  out  a  string  of  grievances. 

"  Well,  I  dunno,  I  'spose  it's  'cause  I'm  not  fit  for 
nothin'  else.  When  this  vyage  is  up,  that'll  make 
four  times,  an'  I'm  poorer  now  nor  when  I  fust 
started  a  sailorin'.  Ef  a  feller  makes  a  little,  the 
blasted  boardin'  masters  gits  it  all  away  from  him. 
He's  a  shark  of  a  feller,  that  boardin'  master;  but 
while  ye  has  money  he's  pleasant  like  until  he  gits 
ye  in  debt  an'  robs  ye  again,  an*  then  ye  has  to 
ship  where  he  tells  ye.  Ef  ye  ain't  willin',  why, 
then  he  gits  ye  drunk  an'  shanghais  ye." 

''Why  don't  you  go  to  a  respectable  boarding 
house  when  you  go  ashore  ?  "  I  suggested. 

' '  How  kin  a  man  go  to  a  'spectable  house  when 
he  ain't  got  no  frens  an'  no  money.  Ef  a  man  goes 
ashore  from  his  ship  arter  a  long  vyage  an'  has  any 
money,  the  boardin'  master's  runner  falls  foul  of 
him,  talks  sweet,  inwites  him  to  drink,  an'  then — 
I  'spose  ye  know  what  a  appetite  fur  rum  is,"  and 
he  looked  into  my  face  as  if  he  expected  me  to  say 
something.  I  replied  : 

"  Thank  God,  I  do  not.  Bnt  why  don't  you 
refuse  to  drink  ? " 


156  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"  Refuse! "  repeated  the  man,  as  if  it  were  a  pre- 
posterous suggestion,  and,  as  if  a  new  light  had 
dawned  upon  him  at  the  very  idea  of  a  refusal 
under  such  circumstances,  "  Refuse!  How  kin  a 
man  refuse  when  he  ain't  got  no  friends,  and  the 
boardin'  master  makes  himself  out  a  saint,  sayin' 
his  house  is  the  only  one  where  a  sailorman  kin  hev 
a  fair  show  ?" 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  this,  but  I 
said  : 

"  You  should  keep  away  from  such  temptation." 

"  Yes,  that's  easy  fur  a  man  what  ain't  got  no 
appetite  fur  the  stuff.  Why,  ef  they  wants  ter  git 
ye  to  ship,  an'  ye  won't  drink,  they  puts  it  in 
youre  wittles,  so  to  give  ye  a  taste;  an'  then — ' 

Just  then  the  relieving  watch  came  on  deck  and 
we  went  below  to  turn  in,  the  conversation  never 
being  resumed.  I  thought  how  true  it  all  is,  but 
how  much  of  it  is  due  to  Hawsrig's  own  shiftless 
ways. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

i 

CAPTURING   A   WHALE. 

I  HAD  my  own  ambitions,  and,  consequently, 
learned  to  enjoy  what  was  enjoyable,  and  to  squeeze 
a  little  pleasure  out  of  all  that  was  disagreeable.  I 
was  now  as  good  a  sailor  as  any  man  in  the  Peri , 
excepting  the  captain  and  first  mate — at  least,  I 
thought  so,  and  could  take  my  trick  at  the  wheel, 
do  my  work  aloft  or  below,  and  was  not-aware  that 
any  fault  could  be  found  with  me. 

There  are  always  antagonisms  arising  among 
forecastlemen,  and  it  was  my  misfortune  to  meet 
mine  when  I  came  across  and  lived  a  short  time 
with  a  shipmate  named  Guy.  He  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian,  and  this  was  his  second  voyage.  He  was  a 
good  sailor,  and  had  the  place  of  boat-steerer — we 
were  natural  antagonists.  That  feeling  had  leaped, 
as  it  were ,  into  the  minds  of  both  of  us  the  moment 
we  met,  which  was  on  a  yard  arm,  and  heard  each 
other's  voices.  Guy  was  a  bully,  and  generally  in 
a  row  with  some  one  of  the  crew. 

I  had  avoided  him  as  much  as  possible,  although 
I  knew  that  sooner  or  later  I  would  have  to  give 
him  a  lesson  in  good  behavior.  He  had  a  habit  of 
saying  ugly  things,  which  he  thought  smart  and 
witty,  as  we  passed  each  other  on  the  deck  or  hap- 

157 


158  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

pened  to  be  close  together  aloft;  especially  was  lie 
aggravating  when  we  were  reefing  or  furling. 

It  was  not  so  much  what  he  said,  as  his  manner 
of  saying  it — he  was  always  carrying  a  chip  on  his 
shoulder  for  some  one  to  knock  off.  One  of  the 
strong  points  in  my  nature  was  to  resist  a  nick- 
name— I  would  neither  give  one  nor  have  one 
applied  to  me. 

One  of  Guy's  favorite  taunts  was  in  paraphrasing 
my  name — he  would  call  me  Slowstep.  This  nettled 
me,  but  I  did  not  care  to  fight  with  him,  although 
I  believed  I  could  whip  him. 

However,  I  never  thought  fighting  a  good  way  to 
settle  differences,  at  least,  until  all  other  means 
were  exhausted.  I  happened  one  day  to  strike 
upon  Guy's  almost  single  weakness  as  to  anything 
like  sensibility,  and  that  was  his  extreme  sensitive- 
ness to  ridicule.  This  hint  came  from  a  bout  of 
words  between  him  and  one  of  the  men,  in  which 
Guy  was  immediately  quieted  down  by  some  ridi- 
cule the  men  heaped  upon  him,  and  which  drove 
him  from  the  forecastle  at  the  time. 

This  I  stored  up,  awaiting  some  chance  to  put 
him  in  a  ridiculous  position.  One  Sunday,  we 
were  all  lounging  about  hoping  for  news  from  the 
mast-head.  That  day  we  had  a  right  fair  dinner, 
for  sea  fare,  it  being  "  lobscouse  "  and  roast  park, 
followed  by  ' '  plum  duff"  served  with  molasses. 

Lobscouse  is  a  very  palatable  dish  when  made 
carefully,  as  our  cook  handled  it,  and  is  composed 
of  hardtack  and  salt  meat  chopped  fine,  to  which  is 


WHALING  VOYAGE,  15C 

added  whatever  vegetable  that  may  be  available, 
all  seasoned  liberally  with  salt  and  pepper, 

To  this  mess  water  is  added,  and  as  the  pot  boils 
it  is  stirred  together  with  a  large  iron  spoon  until 
done,  when  it  is  served  hot. 

Duff  is  made  simply  of  flour  and  water,  to  which 
on  festive  occasions  raisins  are  added,  being  boiled 
and  served  hot  with  sauce  made  with  vinegar  or 
molasses. 

We  were  seated  in  the  forecastle  on  our  chests,  or 
wherever  a  place  could  be  found,  talking,  eating 
and  chaffing  each  other,  when  Guy,  after  having  a 
crack  at  several  of  the  men,  commenced  on  me, 
saying,  "  Quickstep,  you're  always  slowstep,  except 
at  dinner-time.  When  there's  any  eating  to  be 
done  you're  quickstep;  but  when  there's  work 
you're  slowstep,"  after  which  he  laughed  immoder- 
ately. 

The  charge  was  not  true,  and,  the  men  looking 
at  me  as  if  they  expected  me  to  resent  it ,  I  thought 
now  my  time  has  come,  although  I  did  not  know 
just  what  I  was  going  to  do.  We  had  gotten 
through  with  the  dinner,  the  substantial  part  of 
it,  and  were  just  commencing  on  the  duff,  which 
stood  on  the  deck  in  front  of  each  man  in  a  panni- 
kin, swimming  in  molasses.  Guy,  in  a  good  humor 
with  himself,  kept  at  me  as  though  hk  had  found  a 
but  for  his  jokes  who  would  not  resist. 

Suddenly,  I  put  both  hands  into  the  vessel  con- 
taining my  duff,  grabbed  the  whole  mess  in  both 
hands,  and  with  a  powerful  throw  landed  it  full 


160  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

in  his  face.  It  struck  him  about  the  middle  part 
of  his  forehead,  the  dough  and  molasses  streaming- 
down  his  face  and  over  his  clothes.  The  men  all 
roared  and  jeered,  but  Guy  was  too  busy  with  his 
extra  allowance  of  duff  to  appreciate  the  joke. 

After  he  had  wiped  the  mess  off  carefully,  during 
which  time  I  imagined  he  was  collecting  his 
thoughts,  his  anger  increasing  the  while.  He 
finally  found  his  tongue,  saying  in  a  threatening 
attitude : 

"  I'll  get  even  with  you  for  this." 

I  went  up  to  him,  rubbed  my  hands,  yet  recking 
with  the  contents  of  the  pannikin,  over  his  face 
and  cheeks,  at  the  same  time  answering  his  threat: 

"Very  well,  we  had  better  settle  it  right  now, 
and  unless  you  promise  never  to  annoy  me  again,  I 
will  give  you  something  you  won't  be  able  to  get 
in  a  candy  store. " 

The  chests  were  all  pushed  aside,  the  men  form- 
ing a  ring,  in  the  gloomy  forecastle,  with  the 
expectation  of  seeing  a  fight — Jack  is  always  ready 
to  see  a  fight.  But  there  was  no  fight  in  Guy. 
Ridicule  had  completely  mastered  him,  and  he  beat 
a  hasty  retreat  up  the  companion  ladder,  the 
men  calling  after  him : 

"Good-bye,  Mr.  Duff,"  Ever  after,  when  he 
undertook  to  indulge  in  his  bullying  propensity  he 
was  immediately  squelched  by  some  one  saying: 
"Now,  Mr.  Duff."  He  steered  clear  of  me  ever 
after  that. 

We  had  been  slipping  along  quiety  after  this 


WHALING  VOYAGE,  161 

event  for  about  three  weeks  with  the  monotony 
of  the  forecastle  life  unbroken,  when  suddenly, 
like  a  streak  of  lightning  from  a  summer  sky,  the 
cry  rang  from  the  masthead  in  joyous  tones, 
1  'There  she  blows !" 

"Where  away/'  demanded  the  officer  of  the 
deck. 

"  About  two  miles  away,  over  the  lee  quarter." 
shouted  the  lookout. 

The  ship  was  hauled  aback  at  once  and  all  was 
bustle  and  excitement,  each  one  realizing  that  now 
had  come  the  time  for  action. 

"  Masthead,"  shouted  the  mate  to  the  man  aloft, 
"  do  you  see  him?" 

"  Yes,  sir;  blows  again  in  a  spout  a  little  further 
to  the  leeward." 

"All  right,"  answered  the  deck.  "Hoist  and 
swing  the  boats,  my  men.  We  must  get  this  first 
one." 

The  boats  were  lowered  and  manned,  each  one 
taking  his  proper  station,  and  away  went  all  of 
them.  In  less  than  a  jiffy,  as  the  sailors  express 
it,  the  boats  were  in  pursuit  of  that  whale,  or  some 
other  one  that  might  show  up,  seen  from  the  mast- 
head. 

The  oars  bent  under  the  lusty  strokes  of  the 
anxious  men,  spurning  the  waters  and  sending  a 
beaded  ruffle  of  water  aft,  the  boats  bounding 
away,  each  one  emulous  of  striking  the  whale  first. 
A  boatsteerer  was  in  the  head  of  each  boat,  stand- 

(11) 


162  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

ing  erect,  and  directing  by  a  wave  of  his  hand 
which  way  the  steersman  was  to  point  the  boat. 

The  whale  was  not  to  be  seen.  It  was  either 
"gallied"  or  was  remaining  an  undue  length  of 
time  under  water.  Presently  it  came  to  the  sur- 
face, and  close  to  the  boats.  The  death-dealing 
iron  is  poised,  and  Guy,  who  was  in  the  head  of 
the  boat,  the  devil  in  his  eye,  launched  the  iron 
swift  and  sure,  it  entering  the  whale  and  "  fasten- 
ing "  the  boat.  Away  went  the  monster,  and  out 
went  the  line,  three  hundred  fathom,  at  a  tremend- 
ous speed,  a  heating  pace,  which  necessitated  pour- 
ing water  on  it,  where  it  ran  through  the  chocks, 
to  keep  it  from  burning. 

Guy  had  taken  his  place  in  the  stern  sheets,  as 
steersman,  which  is  the  boatsteerer's  place  after  he 
has  struck  the  whale,  and  it  was  "  good  and  fast." 

All  at  once  the  line  slacked  up,  and  the  maddened 
animal  "showed,"  heading  directly  for  the  boat. 
As  he  approached  and  came  within  throwing  dis- 
tance, two  more  irons  were  put  into  him.  We  had 
fastened  to  a  huge  sperm  whale — an  old  bull,  as 
vicious  as  Satan.  The  wounds  enraged  him,  and, 
slowing  down  for  an  instant,  as  they  say  of  steam- 
ers, he  lashed  the  waters,  breaking  them  into  a 
bloody  foam,  as  though  gathering  force  to  attack 
his  enemies,  when  another  iron  admonished  him 
that  it  was  time  to  "  fin  out." 

The  last  iron  had  gone  into  his  life,  but  he  was 
still  lively  and  bent  on  mischief.  He  started  to 
run  the  second  time,  when  "  stern  all "  was  given 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  163 

which  turned  him,  and  he  came  straight  for  the 
boat,  striking  it  with  his  immense  head  square 
amidships,  with  all  the  fury  and  apparent  malice, 
often  shown  by  the  sperm  whale. 

As  he  struck  the  boat,  as  though  guided  by  a 
spirit  of  revenge,  up  it  went,  about  thirty  feet,  in 
a  burst  of  water,  broken  timbers,  oars  and  men, 
not  enough  being  left  of  the  boat  to  offer  a  sug- 
gestion of  repair,  or  indeed,  to  tell  what  it  had 
been.  The  crew  flew  into  the  air  with  the  frag- 
ments of  boat,  and  were  soon  struggling  in  the  sea 
amid  the  wreck,  and  whatever  else  was  floatable, 
striving,  not  only  to  save  themselves  from  drown- 
ing, but,  also  from  the  fury  of  the  maddened  mons- 
ter. After  the  boat  was  stove  the  whale  started  off 
again  but  not  so  strong.  The  remaining  boats 
rescued  the  crew,  all  but  two  of  them,  (Frenchy 
and  Guy) ,  who  were  never  seen  again  after  the  boat 
was  stove. 

It  was  now  nearly  dark  and  the  whale  still 
going,  though  feebly.  When  the  boat  with  the  res- 
cued men  reached  him  and  sent  another  iron  into 
his  carcass,  the  capture  was  then  complete.  His 
dying  throes  broke  the  water  into  blood-colored 
foam,  whenhe  "  flurried"  and  "  finned  out,"  that  is, 
gave  up  the  ghost. 

Often  a  whale  seems  dead,  when,  suddenly,  signs 
of  life  appear,  and  an  expiring  effort  is  made,  doing 
much  damage  in  trying  to  get  away.  So  that, 
when  it  is  not  certain  that  the  prey  is  dead, 
another  iron  is  jammed  into  him  to  make  sure,  and, 


164  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

if  he  does  not  flinch,  he  is  made  fast  and  towed  to 
the  ship. 

The  bowhead,  when  struck,  sometimes  does  great 
damage  to  boats  and  men,  staving  boats,  crippling 
men,  and  so  on;  but  it  is  generally  from  a  clumsy 
effort  to  escape  and  not  from  any  instinct  of 
revenge.  But  the  sperm  whale  seems  to  be  in  such 
cases  actuated  by  a  thinking  power,  which  aims  to' 
destroy  those  who  attack  it.  He  has  been  known 
to  run  a  tilt  at  a  ship,  striking  it  and  causing  it  to 
leak. 

The  exciting  capture  was  ended,  and  it  proved 
to  be  an  eighty-barrel  one.  It  was  made  fast  to 
all  of  the  boats,  tandem,  and  the  towing  to  the  ship 
commenced.  We  towed  it  head  foremost,  as  it 
moves  easier  that  way,  the  involuntary  action  of 
the  flukes  operating  as  a  propeller,  aiding  progress 
through  the  water.  A  piece  of  line  six  or  seven 
feet  long  was  rove  through  a  hole  cut  in  the  whale's 
head  close  to  the  blow  hole,  and  two  or  more 
boats  started  to  the  ship,  which  remained  hove  to, 
awaiting  our  arrival. 

The  speed  was  very  slow,  about  two  miles  an 
hour,  and  it  was  long  after  dark  when  the  vessel 
was  reached,  all  being  wet,  tired,  hungry,  and  sad 
over  the  loss  of  our  shipmates. 

It  was  a  great  grief  to  all  hands  that  two  men 
had  been  lost,  and  especially  to  myself,  that  Guy 
was  one  of  them,  against  whom  I  had  no  enmity, 
but  with  whom  I  had  so  lately  had  a  difficulty  in 
the  forecastle  on  the  occasion  of  our  Sunday  dinner. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  165 

But  the  whaleman's  life  is  in  jeopardy  whenever 
he  enters  a  boat  in  pursuit  of  a  whale — it  may  hap- 
pen, and  it  may  not.  The  calling  is,  in  all  its 
phases,  a  dangerous  one,  but  is  very  enticing  for 
its  adventure,  and  it  is  this  that  leads  many  young 
men  to  the  adoption  of  it. 

I  was  led  to  become  a  sailor,  not  from  any  special 
knowledge  or  any  peculiarities  connected  with  the 
life  of  a  whaler,  but  because  of  an  inherent  love 
of  adventure,  and,  besides,  a  positive  distaste  for 
any  kind  of  shore  business.  After  I  got  my  sea 
legs  on,  and  began  to  learn  my  duties,  though  a  bit 
irksome,  I  was  more  determined  than  ever  to  com- 
plete my  apprenticeship,  and  to  put  myself  in  the 
line  of  promotion,  in  order  to  carry  out  the  original 
idea  of  becoming  captain  of  a  ship,  and  so  escape 
the  horrid  life  and  associations  of  the  forecastle. 
But,  after  all,  with  its  many  hardships,  the  life  of  a 
whaler  is  full  of  activity  and  adventure — in  short,  it 
has  a  charm  difficult  to  understand. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CUTTING  IN. 

CUTTING  in  is  the  operation  of  stripping  the  blub- 
ber from  the  carcass  of  a  whale  after  it  is  towed 
alongside  the  ship,  made  fast,  and  hoisted  on  board 
for  trying-out,  or  rendering  into  oil. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  whales,  as  the  reader 
knows,  the  sperm  whale  containing  only  oil,  and 
the  whalebone  whale — comprising  large  and  small 
animals — the  ' '  bowhead "  being  the  largest  and 
most  important  in  a  money  sense.  The  cutting  in 
of  a  sperm  whale  differs  from  the  same  operation 
upon  the  "  bowhead,"  for  that  is  to  secure  the  pro- 
duct of  oil  and  bone.  I  will  endeavor  to  give  the 
manner  of  each  as  intelligently  as  possible  in  the 
limit  of  a  chapter. 

The  sperm  whale  has  no  bone,  commercially 
speaking,  but  has  in  each  side  of  the  under  jaw 
about  twenty-two  strong,  white,  partially-pointed 
teeth,  which  are  of  no  great  value,  except  as  they 
may  be  used  in  manufactures  not  requiring  large 
and  fine  ivory.  These  teeth  fit  into  the  lower  jaw 
closely  together,  and  into  a  recess,  or  groove,  in  the 
upper  jaw,  which  is  without  teeth. 

The  head,  being  about  one-third  the  size  of  the 
whole  body,  contains  an  oil  which  is  somewhat 

166 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  167 

more  valuable  than  that  obtained  from  the  blubber. 
This  is  dipped  out  with  a  "  case  bucket"  after  the 
head  has  been  cut  off  and  hoisted  on  board ,  when 
a  hole  is  morticed  in  it  large  enough  to  admit  the 
bucket. 

The  whalebone  whales  have  no  teeth,  properly 
speaking,  as  the  construction  of  their  jaws  and 
manner  of  feeding  do  not  require  teeth.  The  bow- 
head  has  a  large  number  of  fringed  plates,  or 
slabs,  suspended  from  the  upper  jaw,  which  are 
about  three  feet  long  at  the  angle  of  the  mouth, 
and  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  feet  at  the  deepest 
part  of  the  jaw.  This  is  the  whalebone  of  commerce , 
is  very  valuable  and  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
whips,  canes,  corset  stays,  and  many  other  things 
useful  and  ornamental. 

As  soon  as  the  capture  is  made  by  the  boats, 
which  is  known  to  the  ship  by  a  code  of  signals,  or 
sighted  from  the  masthead,  that  part  of  the  crew 
which  has  been  left  in  charge  of  the  ship  .to  work 
her  and  keep  off-and-on  while  the  boats  are  in 
chase,  commence  preparing  for  cutting  in,  provided 
it  is  determined  to  render  the  blubber  at  once 
without  waiting  for  another  whale  to  be  captured. 

The  cutting  tackle  is  overhauled  and  mastheaded, 
a  gangway  opened  tin  the  starboard  side  and  a  cut- 
ting-in  stage  slung  over  the  ship's  side,  overhang- 
ing the  water:  cutting  spades,  boarding  knives, 
and  all  necessary  tools  are  placed  in  readiness  on 
deck,  that  there  may  be  no  delay  in  getting  to 


168  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

work  when  the  carcass  is  brought  alongside  and 
properly  made  fast. 

Being  alongside ,  preparations  are  made  for  tack- 
ling on  to  it  by  a  "  fluke-chain"  and  "  head-rope," 
the  flukes  of  the  animal  pointing  forward  on  the 
starboard  side  under  the  cutting-in  stage.  After 
securing  the  carcass  the  fluke-chain  and  head-rope 
are  adjusted,  rove  through  a  port  and  belayed  to  a 
post,  or  bit,  as  the  sailors  call  it,  when  the  men 
commence  stripping  the  blubber  from  the  whale. 

It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  the  next  day  when 
the  whale  was  in  position  alongside  for  the  attack. 
The  men  were  called  to  dinner,  so  that,  when  they 
did  begin,  there  could  no  "knocking  off"  work 
until  all  the  blubber  was  housed,  and  for  fear  too, 
that  it  might  "blast,"  which  means  to  spoil,  or 
that  the  weather  might  become  rough  and  stormy, 
thus  increasing  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  stuff  on 
board;  or,  again,  that  the  boats  might  be  lowered 
away  in  pursuit  of  other  whales  which  might 
show  up  to  the  man  on  the  look-out  from  the 
"  crow's  nest." 

The  head  was  cut  off,  and  divided  into  three 
parts  by  imaginary  lines  known  to  whalemen,  the 
upper  part,  immediately  below  the  spout-hole  is 
the  "  case,"  containing  an  oil  of  a  different  quality 
than  that  obtained  from  the  blubber,  and  of  greater 
value,  amounting  sometimes  to  as  much  as  fifteen 
barrels.  The  "junk"  which  is  a  great  mass  of 
cartilaginous  matter,  tough,  elastic  and  fat,  and  the 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  169 

"  whitehorse,"  a  singular  name,  lying  between  the 
junk  and  the  lower  line  of  the  upper  jaw. 

The  carcass,  in  order  to  secure  all  the  blubber 
with  as  little  time  and  labor  as  possible,  was 
marked  off  with  lines,  spirally,  around  the  circum- 
ference, and,  by  these  lines,  the  outside  covering 
was  cut  and  torn,  both,  from  the  carcass,  which  is 
made  to  turn  in  the  water,  as  the  windlass  is  re- 
volved, by  an  ingenious  adjustment  of  ropes  and 
tackle,  until  all  the  blubber  is  taken  off,  leaving  a 
red  meat  covering  the  skeleton. 

This  red  meat  is  not  a  bad-flavored  one,  when 
fresh,  tasting  something  like  coarse  beef,  though 
stronger  and  redder.  If  it  were  attempted  to  re- 
move the  fatty  covering  from  one  side  of  the  whale 
at  a  time,  there  would  be  some  danger  of  losing  it, 
besides  requiring  more  time  and  labor  to  accom- 
plish the  operation. 

When  the  blubber  is  all  inboard  and  stored  the 
head  is  brought  to  the  gangway,  a  tackle  clapped 
on  to  it,  and,  when  a  large  one,  it  is  hoisted  high 
enough  above  the  surface  of  the  water  to  separate 
the  junk  from  the  case,  hoisted  on  board  and  hove 
up  to  the  plank  shear;  an  opening  large  enough  is 
made  in  it  to  admit  the  case  bucket,  when  the  head 
matter  is  bailed  out.  The  process  of  trying  out  is 
the  same  for  both  animals. 

The  procedure  of  stripping  the  whale  now  being 
ended,  the  blubber  on  board,  and  no  whales  being 
in  sight,  the  work  of  rendering  begins.  The  fat 
comes  from  the  carcass  in  long  strips  called ' '  blanket 


170  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

pieces,"  and  these  are  divided  into  chunks  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  long  by  six  to  eight  inches 
broad,  called  "horse  pieces." 

These  are  then  dropped  into  a  "  strap-tub,"  and 
taken  to  a  machine  known  as  a  mincing  horse,  where 
it  is  cut  into  small  bits  and  dropped  into  a  mincing 
tub.  From  the  mincing  tub  it  is  pitched  into  the 
try-pot,  with  a  blubber  fork,  and  boiled  into  oil. 
The  contents  of  the  try-pot  are  stirred  frequently 
to  keep  it  from  settling  to  the  bottom  and  burning. 
When  the  scraps  which  float  to  the  top  show 
brown  enough,  and  the  expert  whaleman  knows 
from  appearances,  to  indicate  that  the  oil  is  well 
tried  out,  they  are  skimmed  oft*  with  a  perforated 
dipper  and  dropped  into  a  scrap  hopper  that  the 
remaining  oil  may  drip  away. 

These  scraps  are  used  under  the  try-pot  for  fuel. 
The  whole  operation  of  trying  out  is  exactly  similar 
to  what  every  farmer  does  in  the  Fall  of  the  year 
at  what  is  called  "  hog-killing"  time,  and  rendering 
into  lard  the  fat  of  the  hog. 

From  the  try-pot  the  oil  is  ladled  into  large  cool- 
ing coppers,  from  where  it  passes,  when  cooled, 
through  a  hose  into  casks  which  are  already  stowed 
and  then  bunged.  Formerly  it  was  the  practice  to 
draw  the  oil  off  into  a  deck-pot,  and  from  there 
into  casks  on  deck,  where  it  was  bunged,  rolled 
away  and  lashed  to  the  ship's  rail.  Now,  however, 
the  casks  are  lowered  into  the  hold  empty,  and 
filled  as  they  are  stowed  in  layers,  thus  avoiding 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  171 

the  labor  and  time  of  lowering  them  full  and  stow- 
ing them  away. 

When  the  trying-out  is  being  rapidly  done,  as  it 
is  when  the  hold  is  full  of  blubber,  the  casks  are 
often  filled  with  oil  that  is  not  sufficiently  cooled 
off .  The  heat  causes  them  to  leak ,  and  the  cooper 
is  kept  busy  driving  hoops  to  prevent  leakage 
until  the  oil  cools.  The  case  oil  is  put  into  barrels 
by  itself,  sometimes  without  boiling,  but  carefully 
scalded,  together  with  the  junk  and  a  portion  of 
the  hump,  and  put  away  marked  cc  head  matter." 

After  the  blubber  is  tried  out  and  stowed  below, 
the  decks  are  cleaned  up  with  a  lye  made  of  the 
ashes  from  the  furnace  beneath  the  try-pot.  The 
ship  is  thoroughly  cleaned,  the  deck  washed  and 
holy-stoned — at  least,  the  holy-stone  was  used  on  the 
decks  of  the  Peri,  though  J  believe  it  is  not  the 
custom  among  whaling  captains  generally.  The 
grimy  clothing  of  the  crew  is  washed  and  hung  out 
to  dry,  seized  to  one  of  the  stays,  and,  fore  and  aft, 
cleanliness  prevails,  to  be  upset  again,  however,  by 
the  next  cry  of  "  There  she  blows." 

In  the  early  days  of  whaling,  when  all  the  fish- 
ing grounds  were  replete  with  the  monster  game, 
from  Boston  to  the  Brazils,  ships  of  ten  caught  more 
whales  than  could  ,be  "  cut  in  "  and  tried  out  before 
"  blasting ;"  but  in  these  days  of  active  competi- 
tion, when  the  game  is  hunted  from  one  haunt  to 
another,  the  numbers  growing  less  or  the  prey 
going  no  one  knows  where,  the  term  "blubber- 


172  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

logged,"  that  is,  more  than  can  be  utilized,  is  no 
longer  in  vogue. 

But  a  small  vessel,  having  good  luck,  (and  nearly 
all  now  engaged  in  the  trade  are  of  moderate 
dimensions,)  sometimes  fills  up  with  oil,  and  after 
that,  if  more  whales  are  captured  the  whalebone  is 
taken  from  the  head,  and  the  carcass  sent  adrift  to 
become  the  property  of  whoever  picks  it  up,  or  it  is 
eaten  by  the  sharks.  It  is  oftener,  however, 
devoured  by  these  ravenous  monsters  if  the  carcass 
does  not  sink.  When  the  ship  is  full  of  blubber  and 
another  whale  is  captured,  the  bone  secured  and 
the  carcass  cast  loose,  the  captain  and  crew  almost 
weep  to  see,  perhaps,  a  hundred-barrel  whale  drift- 
ing away. 

At  present  whales  are  so  scarce,  even  on  the 
Arctic  grounds,  that  no  chance  is  taken  of  having 
one  escape,  consequently  all  the  storage-room 
below  is  choke-full  with  blubber  before  the  try- 
works  are  fired  up — that  is,  as  long  as  a  whale  is  to 
be  had.  When  the  "  spouts"  become  infrequent, 
or  cease  to  become  frequent  enough  to  encourage 
the  lowering  of  the  boats,  operations  commence  at 
the  try-pot. 

The  try-pot  is  a  large  iron  vessel  holding  a  great 
many  gallons — I  never  knew  just  how  many, — 
inclosed  in  substantial  brick  work  just  aft  of  the 
foremast,  and  all  held  together  by  iron  braces  and 
wood- work,  under  which  is  the  fire  furnace.  One 
would  think  the  sea,  in  case  of  a  storm,  would 
wash  it  overboard  and  send  it  flying  into  a  thousand 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  173 

pieces  over  the  rail  or  through  the  bulwark;  but 
that  seldom  happens. 

Years  ago  it  was  believed  that  the  habitat  of  the 
sperm  whale  wras  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean — it  only 
coming  to  the  surface  occasionally — and  that  it  was 
peculiar  to  temperate  latitudes.  But  it  has  been 
seen  and  caught  in  every  ocean,  except  the  frozen 
regions. 

In  former  years,  all  along  the  coast  of  California, 
from  San  Diego  to  the  Mexican  line ,  on  to  Panama 
and  off  the  coasts  of  Peru  and  Chile,  were  prolific 
whaling  grounds.  The  Bay  of  Monterey  was  at 
one  time  famous  for  the  whale  fisheries  established 
there  permanently;  but  the  fishing  was  prosecuted 
with  such  vigor  that  the  whales  ceased  to  resort  to 
that  locality  as  breeding  grounds.  There  became  in 
reality  more  whalers  than  whales,  and  the  works  of 
capturing  and  trying  out  went  to  ruin  for  lack  of 
occupation. 

There  was  a  small  whale  called  the  "  California 
Grayback,"  which  frequented  the  bayous  all  along 
the  coast  of  California.  They  congregated  in  great 
numbers  in  any  inlet  that  afforded  them  swimming 
room,  as  these  were  the  breeding  places  selected,  by 
some  instinct  which  prompted  them,  to  crowd  such 
places  for  having  their  young.  The  Grayback  had, 
and  still  has,  as  a  remembrance,  the  reputation  of 
having  been  a  devil  incarnate  in  his  temperament 
and  ability  for  damage  and  destruction,  to  his  cap- 
tors and  their  boats.  It  is  now  extinct  on  this  coast, 
so  far  as  profitable  pursuit  is  concerned. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MYSTERIES      OF      THE      SEA. 

No  landsman  can  have  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
vicissitudes  which  surround  the  life  of  a  mariner, 
of  the  mysteries  which  can  never  be  explained 
even  by  those  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships, 
whether  they  go  from  choice  or  necessity,  or  of  the 
dangers  that  are  ever  imminent,  though  not  visible, 
ready  to  launch  their  furies  as  fate  may  have 
ordained. 

The  current  history  of  life,  the  daily  papers, 
relates  to  its  readers  that  such  and  such  ships  are 
due  in  port;  then  comes  the  appalling  announce- 
ment that  they  are  overdue  and  probably  lost,  after 
which  commences  a  series  of  theories  to  account  for 
their  non-arrival.  But,  all  of  a  sudden,  a  new 
wonder  springs  up  and  conjecture  is  silenced  in 
favor  of  the  latest  excitement;  the  vessels  are  never 
heard  of  again,  and  those  who  were  on  board  of 
them  are  never  heard  of  more,  but  are  given  up 
for  lost;  the  forms  of  grief  are  gone  through  with, 
time  partially  curing  the  affliction.  The  memory 
of  the  ill-fated  vessels,  and  those  who  embarked 
in  them,  passengers  and  crew,  become  apart  of  the 
.mystery  of  the  unfathomed  deep. 

What,  it  may  be  pertinently  asked,  becomes  of 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  175 

all  the  never-returning  ships  which  put  to  sea  in 
command  of  experienced  captains  and.  carefully- 
selected  crews  ?  They  are  certainly  not  stolen  by 
captains  who  convert  them  to  their  own  use,  chang- 
ing names  and  identity,  thus  becoming  owners 
without  going  through  the  mercantile  forms  of 
barter  and  sale;  for  the  record  of  every  vessel  and 
every  boat,  above  a  certain  tonnage,  is  compelled 
by  the  laws  of  our  country  to  have  a  registry 
which  is  known  all  over  the  world.  They  are  not 
carried  off  by  mutinous  crews  and  scuttled,  for 
sailors  are  not  generally  navigators,  and  if  they 
were,  detection  would  most  likely  follow.  They  do 
not  turn  pirates,  for  the  occupation  of  the  sea-rover 
is  a  thing  of  the  past. 

Of  course,  then,  if  they  are  never  heard  of  again 
after  leaving  the  port  of  departure,  they  must 
founder  in  some  violent  storm  or  terrible  accident, 
giving  no  time  for  those  on  board  to  escape;  or,  if 
escaping  into  the  boats,  they  may  even  then  go  to 
the  bottom  with  the  ships;  or,  sadder  still,  may  be 
burned  with  all  on  board,  leaving  none  to  tell  the 
story  of  disaster  and  death  by  fire  or  storm. 

To  a  seaman,  only,  is  it  possible  to  conjure  up 
scenes  of  disaster,  such  as  his  daily  life  at  sea 
teach  him  to  know,  of  dire  events  happening  on 
the  limitless  ocean.  Let  us  try  and  account  for 
some  of  the  disappearances  of  staunch  ships  from 
the  surface  of  the  great  oceans. 

A  ship  sails,  the  officers  and  crew  full  of  the 
hope  of  a  short  and  prosperous  voyage.  For 


176  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

weeks  the  wind  and  weather  are  propitious,  the 
sails  swelling  out  from  the  tapering  masts  filled 
with  a  power  which  moves  the  hull  toward  its 
destination.  Suddenly  an  odor  of  something 
burning  comes  to  the  senses  of  those  on  board;  a 
curling  film  of  smoke  ascends  heavenward,  from 
no  one  knows  where  as  yet,  the  precursor  of  a 
dreadful  fate. 

The  sea  runs  in  mountains,  the  officers  and  crew 
are  terror-stricken,  and  the  passengers  crowd  the 
deck  in  the  depth  of  despair.  The  pumps  refuse  to 
work,  from  long  disuse,  and  buckets  are  brought 
into  requisition,  as  though  pigmies  might  combat  a 
hydra-headed  monster.  The  film  of  smoke  increases 
to  a  dense  and  blinding  substance,  uniting  with  the 
floating  clouds  above,  and  then,  thicker  and  thicker, 
until  everything  is  enveloped,  polluting  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  deck. 

Fire  bursts  out  from  unexpected  places,  writhing 
with  flaming  tongues  of  forked  destruction,  when 
the  startling  cry  is  wrung  from  agonized  souls, 
' '  The  ship  is  on  fire ! "  The  flames  run  like  mad- 
dened fiends,  leaping  from  deck  to  rigging,  from 
rigging  to  sails,  until  the  beautiful  structure  is  a 
pyramid  of  fire  with  the  consuming  hull  as  a  base. 
The  decks  are  glowing,  too  hot  for  human  endur- 
ance, and  the  wind  rages  in  unison  with  sea  and 
flame.  The  boats  are  lowered,  but  swamped  with 
their  human  freight  as  soon  as  cast  off;  those  who 
are  in  them  struggle  in  vain  for  a  few  moments 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  177 

with  the  angry  ocean  and  all  are  lost — sinking  to 
rise  no  more  until  the  final  day. 

The  sea  is  illumined  for  a  space  round  the  burn- 
ing fabric,  like  a  haze  of  thick  weather,  which  in  a 
few  hours  consumes  to  the  surface  of  the  sea — 
sinking  into  fathoms  of  depth.  The  owners  await 
the  return  of  the  venture  they  have  sent  out  with 
their  money;  relatives  keep  silent  vigil  until  the 
pulse  of  hope  grows- weaker,  dying  out  in  despair. 

Again.  The  night  is  of  cimmerian  hue ;  the  ship 
has  lost  her  reckoning,  the  gale  driving  the  sea  into 
mountain  billows.  Two  men  stand  at  the  wheel. 
The  storm-king  rides  upon  the  blast,  rioting  in  all 
the  fury  of  his  might  to  fulfill  a  destiny  already 
shaped  out.  All  at  once ,  with  dismay  in  his  ghastly 
tone,  the  lookout  at  the  bow  cries,  in  a  voice  of 
despair,  "Breakers  ahead  1"  All  is  commotion. 
An  attempt  is  made  to  put  the  ship  about.  It  is 
too  late,  and  she  goes  crashing  into  a  reef  of  rocks, 
pounding  her  life  out  to  the  shriek  of  the  storm, 
until  every  timber  groans  as  though  it  were  human. 

The  boats  are  lowered,  but  swept  away  as  though 
impelled  by  the  invisible  hand  of  some  giant  power. 
The  men  climb  into  the  rigging.  The  masts  are 
wrenched  from  their  steps,  adding  the  thunder  of 
their  fall  to  that  of  the  vengeful  tempest.  Men  are 
washed  overboard,  wounded,  maimed,  drowned. 
When  daylight  comes,  the  sea  is  toying  with  its 
victim.  Not  a  soul  is  left  to  witness  the  floating 
wreckage  swelling  about  the  reef  upon  which  the 
ill-fated  vessel  drove  to  destruction. 


178  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

The  owners  at  home  figure  up  in  their  ledgers  the 
cost  of  the  vessel  and  cargo,  the  expenses  of  the 
voyage,  leaving  out  of  the  calculation  what  may  be 
the  expenditure  in  human  life,  and  await  in  vain 
to  fill  out  the  completed  account.  The  mourners 
sit  at  the  desolate  fireside  in  loving  expectancy, 
until ' '  hope  deferred  sickeneth  the  soul. " 

Again.  A  ship  takes  in  her  freight,  and  a  crew  is 
shipped.  The  rattling  of  the  chain-cable  rings  out 
to  the  clank  of  the  windlass  pauls,  as  the  anchor  is 
broken  from  its  hold  on  the  bottom,  to  the  heave 
of  the  sailors,  chanting  a  song  of  hope  and  safe 
return.  Farewell  greetings  are  exchanged,  and 
the  vessel  goes  flying  on  her  journey,  the  white 
wings  of  commerce  spread  to  the  favoring  winds, 
dashing  over  the  tossing  wave  for  a  port  she  shall 
never  reach. 

Some  brutality  of  the  captain,  perhaps  of  the 
other  officers,  too,  or,  an  idle  superstition  has 
taken  possession  of  the  crew.  Some  of  them  refuse 
to  do  duty,  and  the  offending  men  are  put  in  irons 
and  sent  below.  The  remaining  ones  sympathize 
with  their  fellows,  demanding  their  release.  The 
captain  refuses,  when  the  whole  crew  revolt;  undis- 
guised mutiny  stalks  the  deck,  and  all  hands  refuse 
to  put  hand  to  work.  The  captain  undertakes  to 
coerce  those  who  are  not  in  irons,  when  the 
mutineers  takes  possession  of  the  ship. 

Liquor  is  broached,  drunkenness  ensues,  and  the 
officers  are  murdered.  The  men  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  navigation  and  become  frightened  at  their 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  179 

own  deeds.  They  victual  and  water  the  boats,  and, 
scuttling  the  ship,  sail  away  quarreling  among 
themselves.  They  are,  perhaps,  lost,  or,  reaching 
land  somewhere,  pass  themselves  off  for  ship- 
wrecked seamen.  The  ship  fills  and  disappears 
from  the  blue  ocean.  There  remains  no  tell-tale 
hull  as  a  message  to  those  who  are  waiting  at  home 
to  receive  the  loved  ones  who  shall  never  appear. 

All  sailors  know  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  owners 
of  ships  groan  at  their  losses  in  ships  and  cargoes, 
and  marine  insurance  companies  pay  annual  losses 
to  large  amounts  on  vessels  which  seemed  a  fair 
risk,  but  which  never  return  to  the  home  port. 
Occasionally  a  piece  of  wreckage  is  picked  up  at 
sea,  by  which  the  fate  of  a  long  overdue  ship  may 
be  known;  a  peculiar  spar,  or  figure-head,  or 
name-board  is  seen  floating,  the  gilded  letters  glint- 
ing in  the  sun  as  the  remaining  splinter  of  a  once 
noble  hull  mounts  to  the  crest  of  a  snow-capped 
billow  as  if  in  search  of  some  lost  thing,  but 
sinking  back  into  valleys  of  dark  green  water. 

Our  old  hulk  was  bowling  along  four  or  five 
knots  an  hour,  witk  a  rattling  breeze  over  the  port 
bow,  the  yards  braced  round  jam  against  the  rig- 
ging, under  close-reef ed  topsails ,  reefed  foresail  and 
foretopmast-staysail  and  double-reefed  spanker. 
The  sea  now  and  again  gave  the  starboard  bow  a 
blow  solid  with  a  bank  of  water  which  sent  a  wash 
aboard  and  a  salt  spray  half  way  to  the  foremast- 
head,  which  descended  to  the  deck  in  drenching 
showers,  and  ran  in  a  mad  race _to  the  lee  scup- 


180  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

pers,  where  they  struggled  in  great  seething  bubbles 
to  escape. 

This  sort  of  weather  continued  for  three  days 
and  nights  with  fitful  squalls  and  alternate  taking 
off  and  putting  on  sail.  All  expected  that  the  ship 
would  have  to  be  stripped  of  every  inch  of  canvas, 
and  let  scud  under  bare  poles.  But  the  weather 
continued  about  the  same,  and  on  the  fourth  day 
we  were  able  to  carry  more  sail,  until  we  were 
staggering  under  everything  except  to'gallant-sails 
and  royals.  The  royals  had  been  clewed  up,  and 
one  of  the  boys  was  ordered  aloft  to  furl  the  main 
royal,  which  was  blowing  loose  and  slatting  about. 
When  he  got  up  as  far  as  the  topgallant  masthead, 
he  found  that  his  shoes  were  too  heavy  and  would 
not  permit  him  to  go  higher,  and,  slipping  down  to 
the  main  top,  he  took  them  off  and  started  again, 
shinned  it  up  to  the  royal  yard,  stowing  the  sail 
away  in  sailor-like  fashion. 

The  wind  gradually  died  away,  when  more  sail 
was  put  on,  and,  by  noon,  there  was  scarcely  wind 
enough  to  disturb  a  feather.  There  was  a  bank  of 
fog  rolling  up  which  either  indicated  a  wet  time  or 
a  storm.  It  grew  thicker  and  thicker  until  it  com- 
pletely enveloped  oar  craft;  it  was  of  that  density 
that  nothing  could  be  seen  through  it.  The  masts 
were  hidden,  the  rigging  only  supposable.  There 
was  a  faint  whiteness  where  the  sails  hung  upon 
the  masts  and  yards,  but  it  was  impossible  to  see 
faces  or  forms  upon  the  deck. 

The  fog  settled  down  over  us  in  a  solid  bank.     It 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  181 

was  a  wet  solitude,  the  gunwales  were  a  part  of  the 
fog  bank,  and  the  sea  merged  into  the  fog.  The 
man  at  the  wheel  was  the  only  one  who  could  be 
located,  except  the  lookout  at  the  bow,  and  they 
seemed  like  drenched  phantoms.  It  was  so  still,  so 
solemn,  so  much  of  a  solitude,  that  there  was 
scarcely  any  use  of  a  lookout.  Not  a  sound  was 
heard,  except  a  soft  slopping  of  the  sea  as  it  ran 
aft  along  the  vessel's  sides. 

This  condition  of  weather  lasted  until  about  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  when  the  fog  melted  away  before 
the  pressure  of  a  feeble  breeze,  which  gradually 
increased  to  a  good  stiff  one,  filling  the  sails  and 
starting  the  idle  old  hulk  again  on  its  way.  The 
moon  appeared  in  her  silver  glory,  sailing  across  a 
wide  expanse  of  blue  sky,  and  the  stars  came  out 
of  the^azure  ground  of  the  heavens,  as  though  the  re 
was  some  magic  in  their  movements,  studding  the 
celestial  vault  with  points  and  streaks,  and  streams 
of  polished  silver.  The  next  day  we  had  light 
winds  and  rain,  the  weather  settling  down  again 
into  the  same  sort  of  a  fog  we  had  experienced  the 
day  before. 

But  it  cleared  away  again,  and  so  remained  for 
about  two  weeks,  when  a  spout  was  seen  from  the 
masthead.  The  boats  were  lowered,  and  soon  we 
were  in  pursuit  of  a  whale.  The  boats  got  fast  to 
him,  and  when  he  was  converted  into  oil,  we  had 
about  eighty  more  barrels  to  add  to  our  cargo. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

WHALE-BOATS. 

THE  whale-boat  is  unlike  any  other  boat  in  exis- 
tence. It  has  some  of  the  lines  of  a  boat,  as  boat- 
builders  call  the  form;  but  the  one  used  for  captur- 
ing whales  has  lines  peculiarly  its  own,  and  appur- 
tenances which  have  grown  out  of  the  combined 
experience  of  as  many  years  as  the  fraternity  of 
whalemen  is  old,  and  is  better  adapted  for  just 
what  it  has  developed  into  than  any  other  form  of 
boat  yet  conceived.  The  world  will  be  much  older 
before  any  modification  of  importance  takes  place 
in  its  shape  and  construction  unless  steam  whale- 
boats  should  supersede  them,  which  is  not  probable. 

Should  steam  take  the  place  of  oars,  sail  and 
muscle  in  the  chase  and  capture  of  the  oily  levia- 
than, there  would  of  necessity  be  some  modification 
in  its  shape  and  construction. 

The  present  shape,  build  and  adaptation  to  the 
business  of  whaling  cannot,  it  is  agreed,  be 
improved  upon.  The  construction  of  this  boat  is  a 
matter  of  the  closest  calculation;  the  beam,  the 
length,  the  position  of  the  thwarts,  the  length  of 
the  oars,  the  height  of  the  sides  above  the  sea,  the 
shear  of  the  ' '  gunnel "  from  amidships  to  both 
ends  of  the  clipper-like  thing,  are  the  result  of  a 

182 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  183 

varied  experience,  acquired  by  whalemen  engaged 
in  active  pursuit  of  the  whale. 

The  combined  points  are  all  designed  for  speed, 
safety  and  facility  of  movement,  in  either  direction, 
to  meet  the  vicissitudes  of  the  dangerous  and  ven- 
turesome occupation  of  whaling. 

Steam  whale-boats  have  been  employed  to  some 
extent,  but  the  objection  has  been  that  the  escaping 
steam  makes  so  much  noise  as  to  "galley"  the 
whale  when  going  on  to  it.  The  uses  of  the  steam 
whale-boat,  which  is  built  somewhat  like  a  man-of- 
war  launch,  and  not  like  the  beautiful  and  clean- 
built  double-end  whale-boat,  has  so  far  been  used 
for  towing  the  regular  ship's  boats  quickly  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  whale  to  be  struck ;  for  towing  the 
dead  whale  to  the  ship,  and,  also,  for  chasing 
wounded  whales  which  have  broken  loose  after 
being  fastened  to.  From  their  maintained  speed  a 
wounded  whale  is  not  apt  to  escape  from  them  in 
open  water. 

These  steam-launches  are  about  twenty-eight  feet 
long,  with  an  upright  boiler,  using  coal  as  a  fuel. 
The  whale-boat  proper  is  from  twenty-eight  to 
thirty  feet  long,  clean  lined  as  a  bird  and  resting 
on  the  water  as  daintily  as  a  duck,  topping  the 
waves  with  as  much  ease  as  that  aquatic  fowl.  The 
heaviest  parts  of  the  structure  are  the  gunwales, 
keel  and  stem,  and  stern  posts,  which  are  equivalent 
to  the  arch  and  keystone  of  a  spanning  structure, 
binding  the  whole  together  and  imparting  that 
strength  and  stiffness  to  the  entire  fabric  which  is 


184  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

so  important  to  the  trials  and  dangers  it  must 
undergo. 

The  planking  is  white  cedar,  inch  and  a  half 
thick,  and  the  timbers  are  of  some  hard  wood  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  not  sawn,  but  steamed 
into  shape  in  a  steam  chest,  such  as  every  boat 
builder  has  as  a  part  of  his  establishment. 

The  thwarts  are  generally  of  one-and-a-quarter 
inch  pine,  having  their  bearing  on  steamed  knees 
of  great  strength,  securely  fastened.  The  forward, 
or  bow-oar  thwart,  is  made  with  a  hole  in  it,  through 
which  the  mast  is  put  and  secured  into  a  step  under- 
neath. This  thwart  rests  upon  a  double  row  of 
substantial  knees  to  give  it  strength,  that  sail  may 
be  carried  when  occasion  requires;  the  knees  are 
made  of  steamed  hacmatack. 

At  the  forward  end  of  the  boat,  through  what  is 
called  the  "  cuddy-board"  is  a  conical-shaped  post 
called  "logger-head,"  designed  for  checking  the 
line  when  it  is  running  out  too  fast,  and  a 
deep  groove  in  the-  stem,  fitted  with  a  roller, 
or  something  stationary,  which  may  be  replaced 
when  worn  out,  for  the  safe  delivery  of  the  line 
when  fast  to  a  running  whale,  and  going  at  a  speed 
of  ten  miles  an  hour. 

A  certain  space  in  the  bow  contains  a  box  in 
which  is  coiled  the  line,  on  to  which  the  harpoon 
is  bent.  Back  of  this  box  is  a  securely-fastened 
thick  plank,  the  "  clumsycleat,"  having  an  opening 
against  which  the  boat-steerer  braces  his  knee  to 
give  him  purchase  in  throwing  the  iron. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  185 

On  the  gunwale  the  tholepins  are  placed,  made 
of  hard  wood,  and  put  at  proper  distances,  in  which 
the  oars  may  have  room  to  play;  the  oars  are  kept 
well  greased,  and  muffled  with  mats,  so  that  in 
approaching  a  whale  they  may  make  as  little  noise 
as  possible,  letting  the  boat  sneak  upon  the  prey 
without ' '  galleying  "  it  and  causing  it  to  run  away. 

As  silence  and  celerity  are  essential  conditions  of 
capture,  great  care  is  taken  that  the  boats  are  in  a 
condition  to  glide  over  the  water  with  as  little  fric- 
tion as  possible,  to  the  end  that  the  prey  may  not 
escape.  Therefore,  the  planking  outside,  and  the 
bottom  also,  is,  or  ought  to  be,  kept  perfectly 
smooth  by  frequent  sand-papering  and  painting. 

The  equipment  of  the  boat  when  in  chase  con- 
sists of  a  line  tub,  in  which  is  coiled  three  hundred 
fathoms  of  line,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  feet, 
and  so  coiled  as  to  prevent  any  mishap  in  running 
out,  such  as  kinking  in  the  outrun  as  the  whale 
dashes  away  infuriated  with  the  "iron"  in  his 
huge  carcass,  a  mast  and  sprit-sail,  and  five  oars. 

The  harpoon  oars,  and  after  oars,  are  fourteen  feet 
long,  the  tub,  and  bow,  oars  sixteen  feet  long,  and 
the  midship  oars  eighteen  feet  long,  being  so  placed 
that  the  two  shorter  ones  and  one  of  the  longest 
pull  against  two  sixteen-foot  oars,  thus  keeping  the 
boat  balanced  during  the  chase,  encounter  and  cap- 
ture. This  is  when  the  boat  is  propelled  by  four  oars , 
the  harpoon  oar  being  '  *  a  peak  " — the  boat  is  steered 
with  a  twenty-two  foot  oar,  working  through  a 
grommet  on  the  stern  post. 


186  JOHNNIE   QUICKSTEP^ 

The  gear  of  the  boat  is  "  live  harpoons,"  that  is, 
those  in  use,  including  the  one  bent  on  to  the  line. 
The  spare  irons  are  made  fast  fore-and-aft  of  the 
boat  inside  the  "  gunnel "  above  the  thwarts,  and 
lances  are  secured  in  the  same  way.  These  are  all 
kept  sharp  and  protected  by  sheaths  of  soft  wood. 

The  head  of  the  harpoon  is  a  straight,  triangular 
iron  secured  by  a  rivet  to  the  shank  of  the  socket. 
Into  the  socket  is  inserted  a  stout  staff  of  hard, 
green  wood  about  six  feet  long.  Sometimes  the 
head  of  the  harpoon  is  a  long,  narrow  strip  of  iron 
made  fast  to  the  socket  by  a  rivet,  so  that  before  it 
is  thrown  into  the  whale  it  is  on  a  line  with  the 
shank;  but,  when  it  enters  the  blubber  and  the  line 
tautens,  the  blade  drops  to  a  right-angled  position, 
making  it  more  difficult  to  draw  out  when  the  whale 
runs. 

The  upper  part  of  the  shank  is  about  thirty  inches 
long,  having  a  socket  into  which  is  fitted  a  green 
oak  or  hickory  pole  about  six  feet  long.  An  ' '  eye- 
splice,"  made  of  whale  line,  is  wrapped  below  the 
socket,  so  that  it  won't  slip. 

In  the  bow  of  the  boat  are  put  a  water-keg,  lan- 
tern, candles,  a  compass,  and  a  hatchet  within  easy 
reach  of  the  boat-steerer  in  case  he  is  obliged  to  cut 
loose.  Everything  necessary  to  dress  wounds  is 
stored  in  a  safe  place  in  case  of  accident;  also,  flags 
for  signaling,  a  fluke-spade,  boat-hook  and  drag. 
Into  the  boat,  when  in  chase  of  a  whale,  are 
crowded  all  of  the  above,  with  six  men,  which,  to  a 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  187 

greenhorn,  look  as  though  they  had  been  thrown  in 
helter-skelter. 

On  the  contrary,  so  disastrous  is  the  result  if 
anything  goes  wrong,  that  all  is  arranged  in  order, 
to  act  a  certain  part  in  the  capture.  Sometimes, 
however,  in  the  haste  to  respond  to  the  cry  of 
"  There  she  blows!"  mistakes  are  made,  and  acci- 
dents which  may  cost  one  or  more  lives  are  the 
result. 

The  whale-boat  used  by  the  Esquimaux  is  best 
adapted  to  their  style  of  fishing,  for  the  reason  that 
they  whale  from  the  shore,  not  having  a  storing- 
place  for  the  blubber  as  the  whale-ship  has.  When 
they  kill  a  whale  it  is  towed  ashore. 

The  Esquimaux  boat,  called  a  "  baidarka"  is  very 
peculiar  in  its  construction.  First,  a  frame  is  made 
of  wooden  strips  lashed  together  with  green  thongs 
of  walrus  hide.  This  is  left  to  dry,  and,  the  thongs, 
shrinking  as  they  dry,  draw  the  parts  of  the  frame 
closely  and  stiffly  together,  making  it  firmer  and 
more  compact  than  if  put  together  with  nails,  after 
which  the  frame  is  covered  with  green  walrus  hide, 
which  takes  the  place  of  planking  on  an  ordinary 
boat;  and  this  is  left  to  dry  thoroughly,  the  hide 
shrinking  into  all  the  inequalities  of  the  structure, 
occasioned  by  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  frame, 
and  binding  the  whole  together  into  a  most  service- 
able boat. 

The  "baidarka"  is  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
feet  long,  carrying  generally  eight  men.  The  har- 
poons of  the  Esquimaux  are  made  of  ivory,  with  a 


188  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

sharp  point  of  slate,  stone  or  iron.  The  equipment 
of  the  "  baidarka  "  is  a  mast,  which  serves  a  double 
purpose,  being  used  to  stretch  the  sail,  and,  also,  as 
a  staff  for  the  harpoon;  a  large  knife  and  eight 
paddles. 

This  boat  is  not  built  double-ended ,  as  the  regu- 
lar whale-boat  is,  but  has  very  much  the  appear- 
ance of  what  is  known  in  the  inland  waters  of  the 
southern  part  of  the  United  States  as  a  "  cunner," 
or  ' '  dugout. "  This  "dugout"  is  generally  made 
in  one  piece  from  the  trunk  of  a  large  pine  or 
cypress  tree,  and  hollowed  out  with  tools  suitable 
for  the  purpose,  or  burned  out  by  fire,  the  fire 
being  applied  carefully;  and,  as  it  chars,  the  coals 
are  taken  out  until  deep  enough  to  be  smoothed  and 
shaped  inside.  Much  more  might  be  said  upon  the 
question  of  whale-boats,  but  enough  description  is 
had  above  merely  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of 
what  sort  of  boats  are  used  in  the  whale  industry. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

AROUND      CAPE      HORN. 

WE  were  row  in  the  month  of  December,  and 
steering  to  round  Cape  Horn.  Crossing  the  equa- 
tor we  ran  down  to  within  a  few  degrees  of  the 
coast  of  South  America,  to  the  westward  of  the 
Falkland  Islands,  and  through  the  Straits  of  Le 
Maire,  with  a  staying  wind  from  N.  N.  E. ,  a  steady 
barometer,  and  all  the  indications  of  fair  and  set- 
tled weather.  Leaving  the  straits  we  steered  for 
the  Horn,  taking  a  S.  W.  course  with  wind  from 
N.  E.  to  S.  W. ,  doubling  the  Cape  as  close  as  wind 
and  weather  would  permit. 

We  had  a  fairly  good  passage  into  the  Pacific.  It 
was  not  as  ugly  and  boisterous  as  my  imagination 
had  pictured  it  from  the  yarns  I  had  heard  in  the 
forecastle — it  was  as  rough  as  I  wanted  it,  though. 
We  saw  the  Magellan  group,  which  are  three  small 
misty  vaporish  clouds,  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
heavens,  showing  just  above  the  horizon,  after  we 
crossed  the  southern  tropic. 

The  Southern  Cross  came  into  view,  beginning  to 
appear  at  about  18°  N. ,  being,  when  we  were  off 
Cape  Horn,  nearly  above  us.  It  was  a  lovely  night, 
the  pale  moon  sailing  through  an  unflecked  sky 
shorn  of  her  chariot  of  flaky  clouds,  and  accom- 

189 


190  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

panied  by  all  that  celestial  procession  visible  at 
night  in  that  latitude. 

It  took  our  old  hulk  about  sixty  days  to  round 
the  Horn  into  the  Pacific,  with  some  bad  weather, 
of  course;  but  on  the  whole  it  was  not  such  a  dread- 
ful passage  as  it  had  been  painted — not  this  time. 
Once  into  the  Pacific,  we  cruised  along,  picking  up 
a  whale  now  and  then,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  off  the  coast  of  Chile,  between  45°  and  46° 
South,  and  round  the  Island  of  Huago,  the  south 
end  of  Chiloe  Island,  off  Mocha  Island,  off  the  port 
of  Talcahuana,  and  round  the  islands  of  Juan 
Fernandez  and  Masafuero. 

We  worked  our  way  toward  Panama,  where  we 
refitted.  This  city  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  America, 
and  belongs  to  the  United  States  of  Colombia.  It 
is  essentially  a  Spanish  town,  having  been  founded 
by  the  early  Spanish  adventurers  and  explorers. 
It  is  situated  on  what  is  called  Panama  Bay,  which 
is  not  a  harbor,  but  only  a  long  indentation  of  the 
coast;  and,  in  approaching  it,  one  has  no  idea  that 
it  is  a  bay. 

There  is  a  water-gate,  giving  entrance  to  the  city, 
and  here  all  must  land  who  approach  in  boats  or 
launches.  There  are  no  wharves,  as  in  other  cities. 
Passengers  crossing  the  Isthmus  by  rail  land  from 
a  tug  at  a  long  wharf  situated  at  the  lower  part  of 
the  city.  Nearly  the  entire  front  of  Panama  is 
protected  from  approach  by  a  bed  of  lava-colored 
rock,  which  is  almost  entirely  covered  at  high  tide. 

Frowning  over  this  rocky  bed  are  the  ruins  of  a 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  191 

once  massive  fort,  the,  dungeons  of  which,  if  I  re- 
member, were  then  used  as  a  prison.  The  entrance 
to  the  city,  to  which  one  mounts  from  a  boat,  is 
through  a  gateway,  led  up  to  by  a  short  flight  of 
well-worn  stone  steps.  At  this  gateway,  opening 
out  into  the  bay,  congregate  all  the  boatmen,  sailors 
and  idlers  of  all  descriptions  and  of  many  nations, 
with  a  quota  of  native  policemen  armed  with  rifles 
and  clad  in  blue  uniforms  trimmed  with  red. 

Entering  this  gate  way,  one  is  ushered  into  the 
narrow  quaint  streets  of  a  Spanish  town,  having 
adobe  houses,  ruined  churches,  a  half -Moorish 
Cathedral,  and,  to  an  American,  a  cosmopolitan 
population. 

This  old  town  was  founded  in  1673,  and  is  New 
Panama.  Old  Panama  was  some  ten  miles  farther 
down  the  bay,  was  founded  in  1518,  and  was  the 
treasure  house  for  all  the  gold,  silver  and  precious 
stones  of  those  Spanish-conquered  countries.  The 
buccaneers  and  sea-rovers  of  the  sixteenth  century 
robbed  it  whenever  there  was  anything  to  carry  off. 
Morgan,  the  freebooter,  sacked  it  in  1671,  driving 
overland  to  the  Atlantic  side  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  mules  laden  with  treasure. 

The  present  Panama  was  founded  in  1673.  The 
streets  are  narrow,  as  are  all  streets  laid  out  by  the 
Spanish  conquerers,  and  on  some  of  them  the 
houses  are  as  high  as  three  stories,  though  there  are 
modern  ones  from  which  balconies  jut  out  over  the 
foot- way,  so  that,  if  inclined,  the  dwellers  might 
fight  a  duel  from  opposite  sides  of  the  street. 


192  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

There  are  many  old  adobe  houses  of  one  story,  as 
old  as  the  settlement  itself,  and  one  or  two  good- 
sized  hotels.  Churches  are  numerous,  perhaps 
thirty  of  them,  including  monasteries,  the  most  of 
which  are  in  ruins  or  in  a  patched-up  condition  of 
preservation,  but  all  old  and  venerable. 

There  is  the  inevitable  cock-pit,  one  of  the  foun- 
dation stones  of  the  Spanish- American  settlements , 
and  the  just  as  inevitable  arena  for  bull  fights, 
both  of  which  are  Sunday  amusements.  It  is,  no 
doubt,  a  trait  belonging  to  mankind  and  common  to 
the  peopled  world  to  enjoy  a  contest  of  any  sort, 
whether  between  birds  or  dogs,  four-footed  or  two- 
legged  animals. 

But  to  a  rightly-balanced  mind,  these  contests,  to 
be  enjoyable,  must  grow  out  of  the  passions  as 
awakened  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation. 

The  horse  trots,  because  it  is  the  exercise  of  a 
power  given  him  by  nature,  and  because  he  enjoys 
it  when  in  good  condition;  the  dog  goes  to  the 
rescue  of  his  master  with  a  ferocious  instinct  of 
justice;  the  wild  animals  of  the  forest  fight  for 
supremacy,  guided  by  the  instinct  of  self-preserva- 
tion; and  man,  the  embodiment  of  physical  perfec- 
tion and  intellectual  strength,  combats  for  right,  for 
love  of  country,  to  resent  insult,  and  in  defence  of 
those  depending  upon  him.  In  all  this  there  is  no 
brutality — it  is  Divine  wisdom. 

It  is  only  when  man  comes  in  with  a  refinement 
of  cruelty,  made  keen  by  the  greed  of  gain,  that 
this  natural  propensity  to  combat  is  erected  into 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  193 

crime,  under  the  pressure  of  cruel  devices  invented 
by  the  superior  animal,  man. 

Thus,  the  cock  is  provided  with  sabre-like,  razor- 
edged,  steel  spurs  with  which  to  end  the  battle  by 
slashing  thrusts.  The  animals  for  the  arena  are 
bred  to  an  exaggerated  instinct  of  combat  for  the 
pleasure  and  profit  of  his  brain  superior— man. 
The  horse  is  often  put  to  his  paces  when  out  of  con- 
dition and  cruelly  forced  to  a  gait  that,  were  he  in 
condition,  he  would  perform  with  ease  and  spirit; 
and  man,  noble  man,  he  is  fitted  with  "  gloves" 
and  made  to  stand  up  in  a  prescribed  space  before 
his  fellow,  against  whom  he  has  no  grievance,  for  a 
wager;  all  the  noble  instincts  of  manhood  prosti- 
tuted to  the  greedy  desire  of  possessing  a  purse  of 
gold  by  studying  how  his  opponent  may  be  beaten 
into  insensibility  long  enough  for  him  to  claim  a 
sum  that  brains  could  not  win  in  a  lifetime.  But  I 
am  not  a  reformer. 

I  denied  myself  the  cock-pit,  for  the  reason  that 
I  deemed  it  brutal— indeed ,  the  most  brutal  exhibi- 
tion of  man's  rapacity,  except  the  so-called  sport  of 
a  dog-fight.  There  was  an  exhibition  which  I  did 
not  resist.  I  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind , 
and  was  prepared  to  do  violence  to  my  feelings, 
with  a  promise  to  myself  that  I  would  not  so  offend 
again. 

This  contest,  of  which  I  am  going  to  tell  you,  was 
to  be  a  battle  between  an  ordinary ,  every-day  steer 
and  a  tiger.  The  tiger  was  a  part  of  a  stranded 
(13) 


194  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

menagerie  and  circus,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  show 
were  to  enable  the  troupe  to  escape  being  jailed  for 
non-payment  of  debts.  The  steer  was  taken  from 
a  herd  at  pasture,  and  the  combat  was  expected  to 
be  a  gory  one. 

There  was  a  large  crowd  gathered  of  all  classes, 
and  the  musical  tones  of  the  beautiful  Spanish 
language  was  prostituted  to  urging  on  a  hoped-for 
bloody  and  deadly  combat.  It  was  in  the  regular 
arena,  a  space  open  to  the  sky  and  provided  with 
benches  topping  each  other  in  gradual  ascent.  The 
noise  was  Babel  when  the  steer  was  let  in,  and  cries 
of  "bravo,"  "  bravissimo  "  ' (  bravississimo  "  greeted 
the  animal. 

The  steer  sauntered  in  and  commenced  browsing 
on  the  clumps  of  succulent  grass  growing  around 
the  edges  of  the  slaughter-pen,  without  being  dis- 
turbed in  the  least  at  the  noise  of  his  welcome. 
After  the  eyes  of  the  expectant  crowd  had  feasted 
on  the  steer,  and  cries  of  impatience  rent  the  air 
for  the  appearance  of  the  tiger,  that  animal  was 
let  in,  or  rather  dragged  in,  for  he  seemed  more  a 
great  good-natured  cat  than  a  wild  blood-thirsty 
beast. 

The  steer  continued  plucking  the  grass,  occasion- 
ally ruminating,  taking  no  notice  of  the  antagonist 
he  was  expected  to  meet.  The  tiger,  when  rushed 
into  the  arena,  went  to  the  border-line  of  the  enclos- 
ure in  a  stealthy,  cat-like  way,  and  squatted  down 
with  extended  paws,  into  which  he  put  his  head  in 
the  most  complacently  domestic  way  imaginable. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  195 

He  looked  lazily  around  as  if  he  were  in  no  way 
interested  in  the  scene  or  in  the  crowd  present,  and 
commenced  polishing  his  massive  head  with  his 
great  paws,  as  a  cat  does  when  washing  her  face, 
and  so  continued  with  an  occasional  rest  and  yawn, 
and  resumption  of  the  toilet. 

The  steer,  deliberately  grazing,  found  his  way 
around  to  the  tiger.  Expectation  was  rampant, 
hoping  to  see  the  tiger  leap  upon  the  steer  and 
begin  the  fight.  The  steer,  however,  seemed  to 
have  no  animosity  against  the  tiger,  the  latter 
being  in  even  as  amiable  a  condition  of  mind. 

The  steer  lowered  his  head  in  a  friendly  way, 
giving  a  half  snort,  and  the  tiger  responded  by 
raising  up  his  eyes  to  see  who  the  visitor  was.  The 
crowd  cried  out  '  •  Caramba!  caramba!  No  es  bueno." 
The  toreros  were  sent  in  with  waving  red  cloths  and 
prods  to  stir  the  combatants  up  for  the  satisfaction 
of  those  who  had  paid  to  see  blood.  But  neither  of 
the  animals  would  fight;  it  was  not  in  them. 

They  not  only  refused  to  show  any  warlike  spirit, 
but  on  the  contrary  evinced  a  disposition  to  frater- 
nize. The  steer  was  a  peaceful  animal,  not  bred  for 
the  arena,  and  the  tiger  had  been  punched  so  much 
with  hot  irons  while  a  performing  animal  that  the 
savageness  of  his  nature  had  been  rooted  out,  and 
in  its  place  had  set  in  a  cat-like  amiability  beauti- 
ful to  behold. 

The  show  ended  much  to  my  satisfaction,  but  not 
to  that  of  the  crowd  which  had  paid  for  streams  of 
gore.  The  air  was  filled  with  shouts  of  rollicking 


196  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

laughter  and  profanity,  with  cries   of   "  Caramba! 
Noesbueno!   Noesbueno!" 

Ruins  of  churches  and  convents  may  be  seen  in 
almost  any  part  of  Panama.  There  is  a  great  plaza, 
upon  which  stands  a  large  and  lofty  cathedral, 
which  is  open  day  and  night.  At  each  corner  of 
this  ecclesiastical  structure  arises  a  square  tower 
with  open  belfry,  terminating  in  a  small  Moorish 
dome,  between  which  and  the  open  belfry  is  a  wide 
band  inlaid  with  shells  of  the  pearl  oyster. 

These  show  their  beautiful  mother-of-pearl  in- 
terior, glimmering  and  shimmering  in  the  sun's 
rays  like  burnished  silver.  This  cathedral  was 
erected  in  1760,  and  has  been  partially  destroyed 
by  earthquake  several  times,  but  is  now  in  a  fair 
architectural  condition.  In  this  cathedral  may  be 
seen,  high  above  the  altar,  an  image  of  our  Saviour, 
twice  life-sized,  of  solid  silver. 

Now  and  then  one  meets  with  an  ancient  Spanish 
adobe  house,  in  a  Moorish  cast  of  structure;  but 
they  are  rare  now,  time  having  swept  them  away. 
There  is  a  very  old  church  standing  down  toward 
the  water  front.  The  whole  interior  shows  the 
ravages  of  time,  and  these  are  made  more  apparent 
by  modern  attempts  to  preserve  it.  There  is  in 
this  church  an  image  of  our  Lord  on  the  Cross, 
which  to  me  was  excruciatingly  painful ;  t  was 
realistic;  so  lifelike  with  its  air  of  suffering  and 
anguish  as  to  make  one  shudder,  the  lineaments 
portraying  the  most  intense  agony. 

High  up  on  the  towers  of  the  cathedral,  good- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  197 

sized  trees  were  growing,  larger  than  one's  wrist, 
probably  from  seed  wafted  across  the  Pacific,  or 
deposited  by  migratory  birds.  They  seemed  to 
have  a  good  firm  rooting,  and  were  green  with  life 
and  vigor. 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  about  on  the  line 
between  Central  and  South  America,  and  it  is  here 
that  De  Lesseps  commenced  the  work  of  the  Panama 
Canal.  The  advantages  of  a  ship  canal  across  this 
narrowest  part  of  Central  America  has  invited  the 
interest  of  the  engineers  of  the  world  for  over  three 
hundred  years.  There  is  in  the  town  library  of 
Neuremburg  a  globe  of  the  date  1520,  made  by  a 
mathematician  named  John  Schoner,  upon  which  is 
traced  a  line  of  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
— the  project  is  almost  as  old  as  the  discoveries  of 
the  Spaniards. 

It  was  plain  that  the  whole  undertaking  was  in 
a  state  of  stagnation.  Along  the  line  of  the  rail- 
road from  Panama  to  Colon  were  millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  material  and  property  going  to  waste, 
and  thousands  of  men  of  nearly  all  nations  waiting 
for  whatever  might  turn  up.  At  Colon,  or  Aspin- 
wall,  there  was  more  open  daylight  wickedness 
than  I  had  any  idea  could  exist  anywhere. 

We  visited  el  palacio  of  De  Lesseps,  at  Colon.  It 
was  surrounded  by  the  most  exquisite  grounds, 
quite  a  park,  and  filled  with  tropical  plants  and 
fruits.  In  front  of  el  palacio  stood  a  bronze  statue 
of  Columbus.  This  work  of  art  was  presented  to 
the  Republic  of  Colombia  by  the  Empress  Engenie, 


198  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

and  so  little  was  it  appreciated  that  it  lay  for  a  long 
time  in  the  mud,  where  it  was  dumped,  before  it 
was  set  up. 

Colon,  at  the  time  we  were  there,  was  one  of  the 
wickedest  places  I  had  ever  seen,  being  crowded 
with  a  cosmopolitan  population,  composed  of 
natives,  negroes  from  Jamaica,  and  in  fact  nearly 
all  nations,  attracted  there  by  the  prospect  of  work 
and  fat  contracts  from  the  Canal  Company,  and  all 
were  out  of  employment.  The  plank  sidewalks 
were  crowded  with  gaming  tables,  and  the  lust  of 
gold  was  as  vividly  portrayed  by  the  whole  popula- 
tion as  that  shown  by  the  buccaneers  of  old,  who 
crossed  the  Isthmus,  fresh  from  despoiling  ancient 
Panama,  to  ship  their  plunder  on  the  Atlantic. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PROMOTION. 

OXE  morning,  Mr.  Ryder  hailed  me  as  I  was 
passing  forward,  saying: 

"•Quickstep,  the  old  man  wants  you  in  the  cabin." 

' '  All  right.    Shall  I  go  now  ? "  I  asked,  anxiously. 

"  Yes,  go  just  as  you  are/' 

Now,  the  old  man  on  shipboard  always  means  the 
captain.  No  matter  what  his  age  may  be,  that 
familiar  cognomen  is  applied  to  him.  If  he  is  a 
good,  kind  officer,  his  discipline  tempered  with  con- 
sideration, the  nick-name  is  used  with  as  much 
affection  as  Jack  is  capable  of;  but  if  he  is  cruel, 
exacting  and  bad  tempered,  it  becomes  one  of 
defiance.  Speaking  of  the  captain  of  another  ship, 
the  name  * '  skipper  "  is  the  one  always  used. 

I  could  not  imagine  what  I  had  been  summoned 
to  the  cabin  for,  not  being  aware  that  my  duty  had 
not  been  done ,  or  that  I  was  delinquent  in  any  way. 
However,  I  was  wanted,  and  that  was  an  order, 
not  a  request,  which  I  proceeded  to  comply  with, 
and,  in  some  trepidation  made  my  appearance  in 
the  quarters  aft.  Entering,  I  spoke  up: 

"  Mr.  Ryder  said  I  was  wanted  aft  here,  sir." 

"Yes,"  answered  Captain  Ransom,  "I  have 
consulted  with  Mr.  Ryder  about  putting  some  one 

199 


200  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

in  the  place  of  the  man  we  have  lost — the  boat- 
steerer.  The  mate  has  spoken  very  well  of  you, 
and  if  you  think  you  understand  the  duties,  I  will 
appoint  you  to  Guy's  place." 

This  confused  and  partially  stunned  me  for  a 
moment — indeed,  it  quite  took  my  breath  away,  so 
unexpected  was  it.  However,  I  stiffened  up  my 
courage,  replying: 

"I  am  familiar  with  the  duties,  sir,  though  I 
have  never  struck  a  whale,  and  I  would  very  much 
like  to  have  the  promotion.  But  I  am  sorry  that  I 
am  going  to  get  it  at  the  expense  of  the  death  of  a 
shipmate." 

"  That  is  a  generous  sentiment/'  said  the  captain, 
"but  we  are  all  liable  to  sudden  death,  and  it  may 
be  your  turn  next,  though  I  hope  not,  for  it  is  a 
sad  enough  event  to  have  seen  two  men  taken  from 
the  crew  in  one  voyage. " 

"It  is,  sir,  as  you  say;  but  we  all  take  that 
chance  when  we  ship.  I  thank  you,  sir,  for  this 
favor,  and  will  endeavor  to  do  my  duty." 

' '  Upon  that  depends  your  retention  of  the  place. 
You  will  now  mess  with  the  mates/ 

The  steward  was  sent  to  bring  the  mate,  who 
came  immediately,  and,  upon  entering  the  cabin, 
was  accosted  by  the  captain: 

"Mr.  Ryder,  Quickstep  has  been  advanced  to 
the  place  which  the  lost  Guy  had,  and  in  future 
will  mess  with  the  mates.  You  understand  ? " 

"Yes,  sir;  fully." 

I  backed  myself  out  without  another  word,  leav- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  201 

ing  the  mate  in  conversation  with  the  "  old  man," 
and  stood  outside  in  a  sort  of  daze  at  my  good  for- 
tune— I  could  not  yet  realize  it.  But,  being  a  most 
decided  promotion,  it  pleased  me  very  much,  and, 
besides,  it  took  me  out  of  the  forecastle.  That 
meant  to  me  a  great  deal — it  was  a  step  forward  in 
my  ambitious  plans  of  advancing  myself  to  com- 
mand. 

Some  hours  after,  I  noticed  Mr.  Ryder  standing 
at  the  lee  rail,  looking  over  at  the  tumble  of  the 
sea ,  working  itself  into  swelling  hills  and  valleys 
capped  with  frothy  foam  and  tossing  spray  by  the 
drive  of  the  wind.  Going  up  to  him  with  gratitude 
in  my  heart,  and  stammering  on  my  tongue,  I  said: 

"  Mr.  Ryder,  I  thank  you  for  your  share  in  my 
promotion — I  will  try  to  merit  it." 

"Oh,  that's  nothing,  my  lad.  The  'old  man' 
asked  me,  and,  thinking  you  deserved  it,  I  said  so. 
I  never  knew  you  to  '  skulk*  or  *  sojer,'  and  that's 
the  only  kind  of  a  man  to  take  the  boat's  head  in  a 
chase. " 

I  thanked  him  again,  and  went  to  my  work  with 
a  light  heart.  I  think  the  men  were  not  displeased 
at  my  good  luck.  Ned  Ricks  was  enthusiastic 
about  it,  that  is — so  far  as  words  went,  and  they,  of 
course,  were  sincere;  but  his  features  retained  that 
immobile  rigidity  so  natural  to  him,  nothing  like 
the  faintest  shadow  of  a  smile  appearing,  not  a 
muscle  of  his  face  betrayed  it.  With  genuine  feel- 
ing he  came  up  to  me,  speaking  before  I  could  get 
a  chance: 


202  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"  I'm  right  glad,  shipmate,  that  you've  got  out'en 
the  fok'sle,  "cause  ye  desarves  it.  Thet  won't  make 
no  difrence  about  our  bein'  frens,  will  it  ?"  The 
latter  part  of  the  question  being  drawn  out  as  if  to 
have  confirmed,  what  I  am  sure  he  was  already  con- 
fident of. 

"  Why,  no,  Ned;  not  if  I  were  captain." 

"  I  knowed  it,"  said  the  simple-hearted  fellow, 
and  went  forward  to  his  work. 

I  soon  settled  down  to  my  new  place,  the  duties 
being  the  same,  except  when  the  boats  were  low- 
ered, the  difference  being  in  my  escaping  the  for- 
ward quarters,  and  having  a  station  in  the  head  of 
the  boat  when  in  chase  of  a  whale. 

Cutting  in  a  bowhead  differs  somewhat  from  that 
of  cutting  in  the  sperm  whale.  In  the  latter,  it  will 
be  remembered,  the  head  is  cut  off,  while  in  the 
former,  the  head  is  not  so  separated  from  the  body. 
The  whole  inside  of  the  upper  part  of  the  head  or 
jaw  of  the  bowhead,  containing  the  bone,  is  taken 
out,  hoisted  on  deck,  the  slabs  cleaned  free  of  the 
gums,  in  which  they  are  embedded,  and,  after 
thorough  drying,  are  stowed  away  in  the  hold. 

The  bone  located  in  the  upper  jaw,  and  the  head 
is  nearly  all  upper  jaw,  consists  of  a  series  of  whale- 
bone plates,  or  slabs,  acting  as  a  sort  of  curtain 
with  fringed  edges,  which  drop  down  inside  the 
lower  jaw,  forming  a  kind  of  sieve  through  which 
the  animal  strains  the  water,  taken  into  the  enor- 
mous chamber  inside  the  jaws,  from  the  food,  by 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  203 

violently  ejecting  the  water  through  the  fringed 
edges  of  the  plates,  leaving  the  food  to  be  swallowed. 

The  bowhead  is  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  long,  some- 
times much  longer,  the  largest  yielding  from  two 
hundred  to  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  barrels  of 
oil,  and  from  three  thousand  to  three  thousand  five 
hundred  pounds  of  bone. 

The  bowhead  is  the  goal  of  every  whaleman's 
ambition  on  account  of  its  immense  yield  of  oil  and 
bone.  This  leviathan  seldom  attains  a  length  of 
sixty  feet,  although  larger  ones  have  been  caught. 
It  is  a  stout-bodied  animal,  and  what  it  lacks  in 
length  is  compensated  for  in  circumference.  Its 
ponderous  head,  it  has  been  guessed,  is  more  than 
one-third  the  entire  length  of  the  monster  from 
lip  to  fluke. 

Behind  the  plates  of  bone  is  an  enormous  tongue, 
which  is  hidden  and  incapable  of  protrusion;  it  is 
a  fatty  mass  interlaced  with  sinewy  flesh,  yielding 
about  one-tenth  the  quantity  of  oil  procured  from 
the  blubber. 

The  excitement  of  chasing  whales  varies  in  inten- 
sity according  to  the  number  sighted,  and  according 
also  to  the  circumstances  attending  the  capture  of 
each.  One  yielding  up  the  ghost  in  a  short  time, 
another  making  a  prolonged  fight,  lasting  for  hours, 
even  for  a  whole  day.  It  sometimes  happens  that  all 
the  boats  belonging  to  a  ship  are  stove  by  the 
whales ,  one  after  the  other,  and  utterly  ruined ,  defy- 
ing the  carpenter's  efforts  to  patch  them  into  the 
semblance  of  a  boat. 


204  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

Then  the  captain,  in  order  to  continue  his  voyage, 
is  obliged  to  depend  upon  getting  boats  from  other 
vessels  of  the  fleet,  procuring  one  from  this  ship, 
another  from  that,  until  he  has  as  many  as  he  needs 
for  his  purposes.  In  this  the  whalemen  are  all  lib- 
eral, as  any  one  of  them  may  be  caught  the  same 
way. 

Often  the  boats,  in  the  eagerness  of  pursuit,  lose 
sight  of  the  ship;  or,  a  storm  arising,  the  crew  have 
to  remain  out  all  night,  managing  to  keep  the 
ship's  position  as  near  as  possible,  in  dew,  rain  and 
storm,  to  be  picked  up  the  next  day,  or  perhaps, 
two  or  three  days  after,  cold,  wet,  wearied  and 
starving.  It  may  happen  that  they  drift  about  the 
ocean  until  some  passing  vessel  rescues  them  from  a 
state  of  suffering,  by  both  thirst  and  hunger. 
Horable  to  speak  of,  they  may  never  be  seen  again, 
drifting  to  remote  parts  of  the  ocean,  out  of  the  track 
of  vessels,  where,  without  food  or  water,  they  per- 
ish in  storm  and  tempest,  or,  in  a  summer  sea  of 
glory,  dying  by  inevitable  fate. 

Many  times  in  the  arctic  regions,  in  a  sea  of  ice, 
hail  and  snow,  the  ship  is  surrounded  for  days,  often 
weeks,  with  icebergs  and  hummocks,  which  hold 
in  inhospitable  grip  both  vessel  and  crew.  Some- 
times when  a  whale  gets  '  *  good  and  fast "  he 
descends  into  deep  water,  where  he  remains  "  sulk- 
ing "  for  hours,  as  if  to  tire  the  enemy  out,  or  freeze 
him  to  death. 

He  must  come  up,  however,  to  breathe,  and  when 
he  does,  it  is  in  somewhat  of  an  exhausted  state, 


WHALING   VOYAGE  205 

when  an  iron  goes  into  his  life,  preventing  him 
from  ".sounding"  again,  and,  after  spouting  vol- 
umes of  blood  and  mucus ' '  fins  out "  without  another 
struggle.  He  is  then  added  to  the  catch. 

The  size  of  the  bowhead  is  generally  measured 
by  his  captors,  calculating  the  number  of  barrels  he 
will  try  out.  The  rule  of  judgment  is:  when  the 
whale  is  of  a  dark  brown  color  it  is  a  two-hundred 
barrel  capture;  when  black,  about  one-hundred  bar- 
rels; and  when  grayish,  seventy-five  barrels,  more 
or  less.  The  latter  are  captured  among  broken  floes 
at  the  beginning  of  the  season.  The  size,  color,  and 
yield  of  whales  is  according  to  their  age,  all  being 
of  the  same  species. 

There  is  much  idle  time  on  board  a  whaler,  when 
on  the  whaling  grounds  or  cruising  for  prey.  Each 
man,  except  the  idlers,  which  are  the  cook,  steward, 
carpenter,  and  cooper,  has  to  stand  watch  on  deck. 
The  idlers  do  any  duty  necessary,  when  the  crew 
is  short,  or  in  case  of  a  gale  or  any  other  press. 
If  no  whales  are  in  sight,  and  the  try  works  are 
not  in  operation,  the  time  is  spent  in  mending  and 
patching  clothes,  playing  cards  and  checkers,  read- 
ing, or  writing  letters,  in  hope  of  meeting  a  "  home- 
ward bound  "  by  which  to  send  them. 

Many  of  the  men,  in  early  life,  may  have  learned 
some  mechanical  trade,  and,  during  the  hours  of 
\vaiting  and  watching,  employ  themselves  in  mak- 
ing something  to  take  home  when  they  return,  as 
presents  to  friends  and  relatives.  These  are  gener- 
ally of  a  fanciful  nature,  and  made  from  some  part 


1 7 1 


206  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

of  the  captured  game.  The  men  smoke — a  great 
solace  at  sea — spin  yarns  and  otherwise  kill  the  time 
which  hangs  heavy  on  their  hands. 

It  is  a  most  surprising  thing  to  see  a  before-the- 
mast  man,  with  great  hairy,  tarry  hands,  doing  the 
finest  kind  of  needle  work — work  that  would  put 
to  the  blush  many  women  who  have  comfortable 
homes  and  opportunity,  but  who  are  destitute  of 
such  knowledge — work,  so  fine,  accurate  and  taste- 
ful, often  in  colors,  as  to  be  a  wonder.  I  have  seen  a 
sailor,  with  hands  as  large  as  hams,  cut  from  a 
block  of  wood,  a  beautifully-modeled  miniature  ship, 
and  rig  it,  leaving  no  rope,  block  or  tackle  out,  the 
rigging  being  of  the  smallest  cotton  sewing  thread. 
Jack  may  be  seen,  when  it  is  his  watch  below,  with 
his  "  ditty-box  "  before  him,  engaged  in  repairing 
his  clothing,  or  that  of  a  shipmate,  who  is  too  idle 
or  ignorant  to  do  it  for  himself,  receiving  pay  in 
tobacco  or  promises. 

The  "  ditty-box"  is  part  of  a  sailor's  kit,  being 
equivalent  to  a  lady's  work-basket  on  shore.  This 
box  contains  everything  that  the  fancy  of  the 
owner  prompts  him  to  pick  up ,  if  not  too  large — an 
assortment  of  needles,  pieces  of  cloth  for  patches, 
wax,  thread  of  various  sizes,  buttons,  a  thimble, 
and  small  things  like  curios  gathered  in  his  rambles 
over  the  world. 

There  are  always  two  articles  in  the  ditty-box , 
which  portray  two  phases  of  a  sailor's  life — a  pack 
of  cards  well  worn,  and  saturated  with  the  odors  of 
the  forecastle,  and  stained  by  frequent  use,  which 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  207 

satisfies  his  grosser  nature,  and  a  small  Bible  which 
gratifies  whatever  of  intellectual  or  religious  aspira- 
tions and  sentiment  he  may  have.  This  precious 
book  may  have  been  given  to  him  by  a  loving 
mother,  accompanied  with  a  farewell  blessing  and 
a  maternal  kiss,  when  waywardness  led  him  from 
home  to  begin  the  rough  and  stormy  journey  of 
life. 

It  may  have  been  a  costly  one  with  elegant  bind- 
ing, given  to  a  son  whose  prospects  in  life  were 
promising,  with  no  thought  that  it  would  ever  find 
its  way  into  the  reeking  forecastle  of  a  ship,  or  its 
owner  be  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  common 
sailor — the  associate  of  men,  many  of  them,  with 
characters,  I  am  forced  to  admit  from  experience, 
that  are  vile,  but  who  are!  alas!  often  found  in  the 
bunks  under  the  bowsprit,  both  of  whalers  and  the 
regular  merchantman. 

Sunday  is  the  day  for  all  this,  and  some  of  the 
men,  if  they  have  no  work  of  their  own,  will  assist 
a  shipmate  to  repair  his  wardrobe.  I  have  seen  a 
big-fisted  fellow,  with  a  quid  in  his  mouth  large 
enough  to  set  one  speculating  as  to  how  it  was  ever 
stowed  there  behind  the  wide-extending  lips,  put 
an  entire  new  seat  in  a  pair  of  breeches  in  a  man- 
ner so  perfect  as  to  do  credit  to  a  Broadway  tailor. 
It  would  not  very  likely  be  of  the  same  color  as 
the  original  material,  but  Jack  is  never  impeded  by 
such  trifles,  and,  consequently,  the  dress  of  a  gang 
of  merchant  seamen  lack  that  enforced  uniformity 
that  prevails  on  board  a  man-o'-war.  But  it  is 


208  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

equally  picturesque  with  the  war  sailor's  blue  shirt 
and  flaunting  trowsers. 

I  have  been  one  of  a  gang  of  men  at  work  on 
deck  with  clothing  that  had  been  patched  so  many 
times  as  to  have  lost  its  original  color,  looking  as 
though  the  whole  of  Joseph's  descendants  had  been 
mustered  to  display  and  transmit  the  radiance  of 
the  original  Joseph's  coat.  Often,  on  a  Sunday,  a 
few  men  of  the  crew  are  seen,  snugged  away  in 
some  sheltered  place,  the  ship  requiring  but  little 
attention  while  running  along  under  all  plain  sail , 
lashing  the  sea  into  foaming  anger,  intently  read- 
ing the  Bible — reading  from  that  sacred  volume 
passages  they  had  read  over  and  over  again,  and 
marked,  perhaps,  by  a  loving  mother,  wife  or  sis- 
ter, that  attention  might  be  given,  and  lessons 
pointed  out  of  how  to  live  according  to  the  precepts 
taught  there. 

I  cannot  vouch  that  the  study  of  such  passages 
ever  made  much  impression,  the  reading  often 
being  in  fulfillment  of  a  promise  exacted  when  the 
reader  was  leaving  home.  But  of  this  I  am  cer- 
tain, that  such  reading  did  not  make  worse  men  of 
them. 

Then  photographs  are  brought  out,  sometimes 
family  pictures,  which  are  exhibited  with  pride; 
often  the  semblance  of  the  loved  one  at  home, 
"  the  girl  I  left  behind  me,"  which  pictures  are 
subject  of  confidences  between  chums.  Then  all 
the  particulars  are  gone  over,  the  hopes  and  long- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  209 

ings;  for  the  heart  of  the  sailor  is  as  prone  to  gush 
with  love  as  that  of  the  landsman. 

These  confidences  oftener  make  faster  friends  of 
seamen  than  any  common  interest  they  may  have 
in  the  voyage ,  or  any  other  thing  that  may  happen 
on  shipboard.  Friendships  like  these  often  light 
the  fok'sle  with  genuine  human  sentiment,  making 
that  hole  more  endurable,  especially  when  the  occu- 
pants are  not  too  deeply  imbued  with  the  infection 
growing  out  of  life  before  the  mast. 

But  who,  as  a  general  thing,  cares  anything 
about  a  common  sailor  ?  They  are  for  the  greater 
part  of  their  lives  out  of  the  ken  of  human  sym- 
pathy, in  an  element  riotous  with  danger  and 
death;  subject  to  the  dominion  of  a  captain,  often 
brutal  by  nature  and  unfit  to  have  command,  whose 
teachings  are  those  of  force  and  not  of  persuasive 
example. 

There  is  a  devil  in  the  human  heart,  inherent  it 
is  claimed,  which  is  especially  fostered  at  sea,  and 
which  is  often  developed  into  its  worst  form  by  bad 
treatment.  Out  off  from  his  kind,  aloof  as  he 
stands,  a  sailor  cannot  understand  the  subtle  usages 
of  shore  life,  and  captains  of  ten  undertake  to  instill 
Christian  principles  through  the  aid  of  a  marline 
spike  rather  than  by  kindly  acts  and  example. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

OFF  FOR  THE  ARCTIC. 

"  IT  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good,"  and 
in  this  case  the  wind  was  in  my  favor.  The  loss  of 
two  men,  Guy  and  Frenchy,  was  the  dreadful 
means  of  giving  me  promotion  to  the  position  of 
boatsteerer. 

The  time  of  the  year  had  now  come  when  it  was 
necessary  to  start  for  the  arctic  seas,  in  order  to  be 
in  for  the  bowhead  fishing;  and  so  we  left  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  after  landing  what  cargo  we  had  on 
board. 

The  gloom  that  had  settled  down  on  the  ship  in 
consequence  of  the  loss  of  the  two  men  was  not  yet 
wholly  dispelled.  Captain  Ransom  was  keenly 
alive  to  the  sensation,  somewhat  morbidly  I  thought, 
and  seemed  full  of  doubt  as  to  the  result  of  this 
latter  part  of  the  voyage. 

He  seemed  to  have  much  confidence  in  the  mate's 
judgment,  and  had  frequent  conversations  over  the 
matter  with  Mr.  Ryder,  but  always  with  the  same 
result;  he  was  possessed  of  the  idea  that  the  voyage 
would  end  in  disaster. 

In  his  own  modest  way,  Mr.  Ryder  commended 
him  for  his  care,  for  his  ability  and  knowledge  of  a 
seaman's  duty,  and,  so  far  as  he  was  able  to  judge, 
thought  the  captain  was  doing  well  enough. 

210 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  211 

All  this  time  I  had  a  sort  of  secret  understand- 
ing with  myself  during  my  intercourse  with  the 
captain  that  the  confidence  he  had  placed  in  me  as 
to  my  nautical  ability  was  not  well  bestowed,  for, 
in  my  own  opinion,  I  was  but  a  greenhorn. 

However,  I  had  made  no  serious  mistakes  yet, 
though  my  misgivings  were  full  and  plenty.  The 
work  of  the  ship  was  going  on  about  as  well  as  it 
had  ever  done  on  the  voyage,  and,  notwithstanding 
Captain  Ransom's  fears,  Mr.  Ryder  and  myself 
hoped  they  would  continue  so. 

We  did  not  think  our  captain  quite  as  strong  as 
when  we  entered  on  the  voyage,  though  we  both 
hoped  he  would  improve  in  this  before  we  reached 
our  destination.  Formerly,  he  had  been  quick  to 
observe  and  prompt  to  execute  whatever  he  might 
be  doing,  or  ordered  to  be  done.  Now,  whatever 
he  did  was  all  right;  but  there  did  not  seem  to  be 
in  it  that  snap  of  quick  judgment  habitual  to  his 
mind — there  seemed  an  element  of  doubt  in  what 
he  did — he  considered  it  for  a  longer  time. 

The  Peri  was  booming  along  with  as  much  as 
could  be  got  out  of  her  under  all  sail,  the  wind 
coming  about  'midships  over  the  starboard  rail.  It 
was  one  of  those  long  holidays  which  often  succeed 
the  cutting  in  and  trying  out  of  the  last  whale  cap- 
tured. The  men  were  sort  of  half-way  employed 
and  half  "  sojering,"  going  about  the  work  as 
though  they  would  much  rather  abandon  it  alto- 
gether in  favor  of  a  chase  in  the  boats  after  a 
whale. 


212  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

The  watch  below  was  getting  all  the  fun  possible 
out  of  the  dearth  of  whales.  Mending  clothes, 
playing  games,  singing,  scrimshawing,  yarning, 
quarreling  and  kindred  occupations  of  shipboard 
life  were  the  order  of  things  day  and  night;  and  so 
the  time  passed  as  we  sailed  toward  that  destina- 
tion where  the  arduous  labor  of  catching  bowheads 
awaited  us — provided  there  were  any  to  capture. 

The  day  had  passed  and  the  evening  came  with 
its  roseate  hues,  which,  changing  into  a  dreamy 
twilight,  lingered  long  over  the  ship,  fading  gradu- 
ally out  into  a  radiance  of  colors,  and  finally  passing 
into  that  period  between  the  last  glimmer  of  light 
and  an  intense  darkness,  illumined  by  myriads  of 
glowing  celestial  fires. 

I  was  walking  the  deck  full  of  my  own  thoughts, 
thinking  of  my  own  advancement  from  the  time  I 
had  become  a  sailor,  of  my  good  fortune  in  being 
selected  first  for  boat-steerer  and  of  the  responsi- 
bility I  had  assumed  in  accepting  the  latter  posi- 
tion. The  only  consolation  in  the  proposition,  aside 
from  endeavoring  to  do  my  duty,  was  in  the  fact 
that  the  captain  had  entire  confidence  in  me,  and 
that  whatever  had  come  to  me  in  the  way  of  duty 
I  had  performed  as  far  as  I  knew  to  the  satisfaction 
of  my  superior  officers. 

Then,  recollections  of  my  boyhood  came  throng- 
ing upon  me;  of  all  the  events  of  my  early  life,  of 
my  doubts  and  fears,  of  my  indecisions  in  choosing 
a  profession,  and,  last,  of  dear  Miss  Searson,  with 
her  kindly  ways,  her  benign  face  and  presence,  of 


WHALING   VOYAGE.  213 

her  trembling  ringlets  and  of  her  old-fashioned 
make-up,  of  all  her  goodness  to  me,  and  my  possible 
unworthiness ,  though  I  had  tried  hard  to  merit  all 
she  had  done  for  me. 

Then,  the  vision  came  to  me  of  her  neat  and 
wholesome  rooms,  she  busy  with  her  daily  domestic 
duties,  and,  on  top  of  all,  came  the  scene  of  leaving 
her  to  go  to  sea — she  in  a  fainting  fit  upon  the  sofa. 
I  wondered  how  she  was  getting  on,  whether  she 
was  still  living,  and  if  she  yet  remembered  me  with 
the  affection  she  had  shown  since  the  death  of  my 
dear  mother.  I  had  received  not  a  word  from  her, 
of  course,  for  there  was  no  way  of  communication 
between  the  land  of  my  birth  and  those  far-away 
seas,  so  full  of  danger,  song,  poetry  and  fable. 
The  only  chance  of  getting  a  letter  from  the  United 
States,  supposing  one  had  been  written,  was  to 
meet  an  outward-bound  vessel  from  some  northern 
port  with  a  mail  for  the  South  Pacific,  or,  for  that 
matter,  anywhere  on  the  broad  ocean. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  my  watch 
on  deck.  The  men  were  at  work  washing  up  the 
deck,  after  having  used  the  holy-stones — an  exaction 
of  our  captain,  which  had  been  kept  up.  Buckets 
were  cast  over  the  ship's  side  by  brawny  arms,  dip- 
ping up  the  bright  and  sparkling  sea  waves,  with 
which  the  decks  were  swashed. 

Brooms  and  mops  were  briskly  moving,  plied  by 
the  strong  hands  of  the  men,  making  a  picturesque 
scene  in  their  many-colored  rags,  donned  for  the 
occasion  their  stalwart  limbs  knotted  with  muscles 


214  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

partially  bared  to  the  sun  and  wind,  defying  them 
both.  I  was  so  intent  on  having  well  done  what  I 
had  ordered  the  men  to  do,  that  I  did  not  observe 
Captain  Ransom  coming  from  his  cabin.  He  came 
up  to  me  before  I  was  aware  of  his  presence,  accost- 
ing me  pleasantly. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Quickstep,  you  seem  determined  to 
keep  this  deck  as  clean  and  neat  as  a  lady's  ' c  bou- 
doir." 

"  I  like  to  see  it  sweet  and  clean,  sir;  besides,  you 
know  this  holy-stone  business  is  one  of  your  hobbies." 

In  the  matter  of  cleanliness  our  captain  was  some- 
thing of  a  martinet,  and,  looking  straight  into  his 
eyes,  I  observed  that  he  was  pleased. 

"  I  like  to  see  it  so,"  he  replied,  "  though  there 
are  other  things  I  would  much  prefer  to  see." 
Continuing,  he  remarked — 

'  *  I  want  to  see  the  deck  an  inch  thick  with 
blubber  drippings,  the  hold  stowed  with  full  casks, 
and  those  covered  with  whalebone  chock  under  the 
deck  beams."  An  anxious  look  coming  over  his 
face. 

"  That  is  something  like  it,  sir;  but,  if  our  fate  is 
to  get  a  cargo  in  a  hurry,  we  shall  get  it.  If  we  are 
to  linger  away  from  our  homes  for  two  or  three  years 
longer,  we  must  accept  that,  too." 

"  That  is  all  true,"  he  answered,  in  reply  to  my 
idea  of  the  fitness  of  things.  ' '  But  I  shall  not  feel 
easy  until  we  land  in  Boston  harbor  with  a  full  car- 
go, and  I  get  my  release  from  the  owners.  This 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  215 

command  weighs  heavy  upon  me.     I  cannot  help 
it,  nor  divine  the  cause. 

With  presumption,  which  I  was  too  inexperienced 
at  the  time  to  see,  I  answered — 

"  Captain,  that  we  are  not  getting  as  many 
whales  as  we  should ,  is  no  fault  of  yours.  Otherwise , 
we  are  getting  on  much  as  we  did  before.  If  you 
have  made  a  mistake  at  all,  it  was  in  making  me 
boat-steerer.  I  feel  the  weight  of  my  position  and 
I  am  trying  as  hard  as  I  know  how  to  make  myself 
proficient."  This  as  though  I  were  mining  for  a 
compliment — though  I  protest  I  was  not. 

1 '  Don't  bother  about  that.  I  knew  what  I  was  do- 
ing. I  knew  that  you  were  but  a  young  sailor;  but 
my  confidence  in  you  is  as  much  in  your  cool  tempera- 
ment as  in  your  nautical  knowledge,"  and  he  looked 
as  though  he  thought  I  was  pushing  the  question  too 
far.  ' c  That's  all  right ,"  he  continued , ' '  I  am  going 
to  my  cabin  to  work  out  our  position.  If  anything 
happens  requiring  my  presence,  have  Mr.  Ryder 
send  for  me,"  and  he  walked,  slowly  away  looking 
up  at  the  trim  of  the  sails,  and  out  over  the  vast 
ocean. 

This  conversation  with  my  superior  officer  grated 
a  bit  on  my  senses,  for  the  reason  that  I  seemed  to 
be  taunting  him  with  his  indiscretion  in  appointing 
me.  This  was  not  my  motive.  There  was,  perhaps, 
an  unconscious  feeling  that  prompted  me  to  try  and 
learn  what  my  commander  thought  of  me — I  suppose 
I  was  really  fishing  for  a  compliment,  and  did  not 
know  it. 


216  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

The  ordinary  routine  work  on  shipboard  was 
familiar  enough  to  me,  and,  in  that  respect,  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  filling  my  new  position.  I  had 
some  natural  dread  of  stormy  weather  and  of  un- 
foreseen things  that  might  happen.  However,  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  accept  the  present  time  for 
what  there  was  in  it — not  to  anticipate  trouble,  but 
to  await  whatever  might  happen  in  the  future, 
endeavoring  to  meet  in  the  proper  spirit  whatever 
came  in  the  shape  of  bad  luck. 

The  ship  was  sweeping  along  over  a  riotous  sea, 
topping  the  restless,  ever-changing  waves,  tipped 
with  a  delicate  tracery  of  fringed  foam.  The  deck 
now  and  again  was  washed  by  a  shower  of  needle- 
like  spray  from  over  the  bow,  as  heavy  as  a  summer 
rain.  The  vessel  was  taking  care  of  herself,  as  it 
were.  The  only  man  being  really  occupied  was  the 
man  at  the  wheel,  whose  rugged  features  betrayed 
the  anxiety  he  felt  in  frequent  glances  aloft  to  get 
the  trim  of  the  sails,  gave  a  twist  or  two  of  the 
wheel  from  port  to  starboard  and  back  again,  and 
a  hasty  look  from  the  compass  to  the  shivering 
canvas. 


CHAPTER 

MEHMAIDS. 

THE  men  were  gathered  around  the  windlass  and 
on  the  heel  of  the  bowsprit,  sitting,  standing, 
lounging  and  giving  vent  to  the  gross  superstitions 
with  which  their  minds  were  teeming — superstitions 
that  belong  now  to  by -gone  days,  but  which  are  yet 
tenants  of  the  forecastle. 

Even  young  men,  intelligent  mariners,  fall  readily 
into  the  belief  of  the  old  "  shell-backs,"  after  being 
in  the  forward  part  of  a  ship  under  the  knight- 
heads  for  a  few  months.  The  mermaid  and  her 
loves,  as  seen  by  sailor-men  in  the  various  seas  they 
have  visited,  and  under  curious  circumstances,  was 
just  now  the  theme  of  discussion. 

There  are  many  of  the  denizens  of  the  forecastle 
who  will  make  "  affidavy  "  that  they  have  seen  this 
fabulous  creature,  and  spoken  to  her — nay,  made 
love  to  her.  The  malelot  of  fifty  years  ago  still 
clings  to  fancies  that  have  become  more  firmly 
rooted  in  his  beliefs  than  any  theory  of  religion 
that  may  by  chance  have  gotten  a  lodgment^  in  his 
philosophy.  These  superstitions  he  imbibed  on  his 
first  voyage;  and  as  well  may  one  attempt  to  modify 
the  belief  that  all  these  wonders  exist  in  the  depths 
of  ocean,  as  to  reason  with  a  hungry  lion  about 
the  ownership  of  a  meat  carcass 


218  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

Many  men  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  in 
our  day,  are  not  mere  before-the-mast  machines. 
Many  of  these  are  entering  the  dawn  of  separate 
thinking  power,  with  ability  to  put  this  and  that 
together,  separating  the  chaff  from  the  grain;  but 
the  wonder-believer  still  exists. 

It  is  not  only  the  untutored  sailor,  riding  out  a 
gale  which  seems  to  him  to  be  an  avenging  thing, 
who  hugs  these  wierd  fancies  to  his  bosom — for 
nearly  all  rude  people  who  dwell  upon  the  sea-shore 
within  sound  of  the  ocean's  constant  roar,  in  com- 
munities remote  from  education  and  opportunity, 
share  these  beliefs;  they,  like  the  mariner,  attribute 
supernatural  powers  to  everything  they  cannot 
understand. 

The  idlers  on  deck,  congregated  in  the  angle 
formed  by  the  bows  of  the  ship  for  a  rallying  point, 
were  exchanging  yarns.  Jack's  yarns  seem  to 
come  into  his  mind  without  any  order,  and  when  he 
starts  in  on  one,  after  listening  to  that  of  his  fellow- 
shipmate,  it  generally  has  no  connection  with  the 
subject  of  the  foregoing  one,  but  is  just  what  pops 
into  his  head;  and,  usually,  he  prefaces  it  with, 
' '  That  puts  me  in  mind  o'  a  voyage  I  made  to  the 
coast  of  Afriky,"  or  to  some  other  part  of  the 
world,  or  some  other  circumstance. 

Jack  Staples,  who  had  been  looking  out  over  the 
port  bow,  suddenly  turned  to  the  crowd,  saying: 

"  I  jist  seen  a  Portigese  man-o'-war  under  fall 
sail,"  and  he  seemed  to  be  inviting  the  criticism  of 
the  crew.  He  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  Tom  Kre- 


V,  HALING   VOYAGE.  219 

kit  sneered  out,  "  I've  bin  to  sea,  man  and  boy,  this 
fifty  year,  an'  I  ain't  never  seen  sich  a  thing  as  a 
fish  what's  a  wessel,"  looking  as  though  he  chal- 
lenged contradiction. 

' '  Ye  ain't,  ain't  ye  ? "  replied  Staples,  contemptu- 
ously. "  'Tain't  no  fish,  it's  a  animal  what's  got  a 
shell  it  rigs  into  a  boat,"  and  the  men  waited,  for 
they  knew  that  Staples  was  not  yet  done  his  yarn. 
Krekit  looked  his  disbelief  with  all  his  might, 
merely  grumbling  out: 

"Itmoughtbe." 

"  It  moughtent  be,"  said  Staples,  "  'cause  it  is.  I 
seen  one  oncte  es  big  es  a  fore-an' -after,  in  the 
Indian  Ocean.  It  was  a-sailin'  along  like  it  was  a 
pleasurin,  an'  it  hed  its  oars  an'  sails  all  out.  They 
was  a  thunderin'  big  shark  a-comin'  head  onto  it, 
an'  the  look-out  on  the  Portigese  man-o'-war  seen 
the  fish  a-comin'.  What  does  he  do  but  take  in  the 
oars,  clap  on  more  sail  an'  runs  away  on  a  three- 
quarter  breeze  faster  nor  the  shark  could  swim," 
looking  triumphantly  around. 

This  started  Krekit  out  of  all  propriety,  and  he 
remonstrated : 

"  Did  I  understand  ye  to  say,  Jack  Staples,  that 
ye  seen  that  wi'  yer  own  eyes  ? "  demanded  Krekit, 
looking  as  though  he  felt  his  intelligence  insulted. 

"Yes,  I  seen  it  wi'  my  own  eyes,"  repeated 
Staples,  and  there  came  a  belligerent  look  into  his 
eyes. 

"  Then,  I  ses  as  how  it's  a  lie,"  roared  Krekit, 
"  an'  the  man  what  tells  that  yarn  is  a — well,  he's 


220  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

mistook  the  thing  what  he's  seen  for  somethin' 
else — p'raps  a  mermaid,"  explained  Krekit,  looking 
into  Staples'  eyes,  and  feeling  that  he  had  gone  too 
far. 

"  I  allow  as  the  man  what  calls  me  a  liar,  '11  have 
to  fight,"  bullied  Staples,  determined  to  have  a  row; 
"  b'sides,  they  ain't  no  mermaids,"  retorted  the 
speaker,  although  he  had  several  choice  mermaid 
yarns  that  he  used  to  get  off  on  every  occasion. 

Both  men  jumped  to  their  feet,  and  there  was 
every  prospect  of  a  lively  fight,  when  Ben,  the 
general  pacificator,  stepped  between  them. 

"  Awast  there,  my  hearties.  I  ain't  a-goin'  to 
have  no  fightin' ;  scatter  my  rivets  if  I  do.  Can't 
you  fellers  enjoy  yourselves  wi'  a  little  perwersion 
of  the  truth  'thout  fightin'  an'  quarrelin'  like  cats 
an'  dogs.  Look  ye,  my  lads,  I  told  Cap'n  Ransom 
as  how  I'd  be  'sponsible  for  the  good  conduc'  o'  this 
air  crew,  an'  scatter  my  rivets  ef  I  don't  doit.'' 

"  Right  ye  air,"  cried  several  voices,  among 
which,  those  of  Staples  and  Krekit  were  the  loud- 
est, showing  that  they  were  glad  to  escape  the 
necessity  of  coming  to  blows. 

"  My  lads,"  commenced  Ben,  now  that  he  was  in 
the  humor  for  uncorking  his  wisdom,  "let  every 
man  tell  his  yarn,  lie  or  no  lie.  I  b'leves  every 
yarn  what  I  listens  to,  'cause  why,  'cause  its  a  heap 
more  easier  to  b'leve  nor  it  is  to  hunt  for  the  proof. 
They  mought  be  shells  what  kin  sail  like  a  vessel, 
an*  I  knows  they  is  mermaids,  'cause  I've  seen  'em." 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  221 

"'Course  they Js  mermaids,  'cause  I've  seen  'em, 
too,"  confirmed  Krekit. 

"I'll  tell  ye  what  I  knows  about  it,"  continued 
Ben,  "  an*  I  don't  want  no  mant'onb'leveit;see?" 

"  Yes,  let's  have  that  air  mermaid  yarn,"  urged 
the  men,  and  in  an  instant  Ben  was  surrounded. 

"  I  was  oncte  shipmate  wi'  a  sailorman  what 
could  look  on  an'  see  another  man  doin'  work,  what 
he  oughter  do  hisself ,  'thout  losin'  his  appetite  for 
grub.  He  was  a  lubberly,  sqjerin'  hulk  o'  a  feller, 
an'  allers  a-lookin'  for  some  excuse  to  shift  his  work 
off  onto  a  shipmate.  One  day,  we  was  a-layin* 
becalmed  off  'en  St.  Helena,  an'  a  mermaid  come  up 
'longside  o'  the  ship.  She  was  a-balancin'  herself  on 
her  tail  flukes,  an'  a-combin'  of  her  golden,  yaller 
hair  in  one  hand  an'  a-holdin'  of  a  lookin'-glass  in 
t'  other  one,  a-fixin'  of  her  frizzes,  an*  a-lookin'  es 
happy  es  a  sailor's  wife  wi'  the  wages  of  a  three- 
years'  cruise  in  her  porte-money,  as  the  Frenchies 
calls  it. 

"  The  sojering  fok'sle  swab  what  I'm  a-tellin'  ye 
about — Idisremember  his  name  jist  this  rninit;  how- 
sumdever,  thet  don't  make  not  no  diff  rence — was 
a-skulkin'  in  the  forechains,  an'  he  seen  the  mer- 
maid. He  was  a  putty  slick  lookin'  feller  for  a 
sojer,  an'  as  soon  as  thet  female  fish  sot  eyes  on  him, 
she  falls  in  love  an'  they  begin  a-flirtin'  wi'  each 
other  ontil  the  sojer — I  disremember  his  name — 
slipped  down  on  the  starboard  chain  plates,  an' 
the  mermaid  she  retched  up  for  him  wi'  both  arms; 
but  the  chain  plates  was  too  high. " 


222"  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

<c  Look  a  here,  shipmate,"  demanded  Chain,  with 
an  air  of  incredulity,  "when  thet  air  fish-woman 
retched  up  for  to  kiss  thet  air  sailorman  what  was 
a-hangin'  onto  them  chain  plates,  what'd  she  do  wi' 
the  comb  an'  brush  ? "  and  he  looked  as  though  he 
had  Ben  in  a  trap. 

"  Why/*  answered  Ben,  with  the  air  of  a  man 
who  feels  strong  in  the  position  he  has  taken,  "  she 
clapped  'em  in  her  pocket."  And  Chain  had  the 
mortification  of  being  laughed  at. 

"  Ye  see,"  Ben  continued,  "jist  es  the  mermaid 
was  a-gittin'  of  her  arms  'round  the  man's  neck,  the 
fust  mate  come  along  an'  busted  the  tater-tate,  es 
them  air  Frenchies  calls  it.  The  fust  mate  he  seen 
the  man  a-sojerin'  in  the  forechains,  an',  ses  he,  he 
ses,  '  Ye  skulkin'  lubber,  what  air  ye  doin'  of  doVn 
there  ?  Gittin'  rid  of  yer  work  agin,  I  'spose';  an' 
he  driv  the  man  aloft  to  slush  down  the  mast. 

"  The  mermaid  got  scared  half  to  death,  jist  like 
shore  gals  does  when  they're  cotched  wi'  they're 
lovers;  an'  she  duv  down.  Thet's  the  last  we  seen  of 
her  on  thet  coast." 

"  Is  thet  all  of  it  ? "  asked  several  voices,  "  Didn't 
she  come  up  agin  ? " 

"  Not  off  thet  Island,"  explained  Ben,  after  cogi- 
tating a  while;  "  not  off  thet  Island,"  and  he  rested 
to  sharpen  the  curiosity  of  his  hearers. 

"  Why  don't  ye  tell  the  hull  yarn  es  ye  was  agoin' 
to  do,"  exclaimed  the  men.  "  What's  the  use  o'  cut- 
tin'  of  it  off  in  the  middle,  es  the  newspapers  does, 
an'  printin'  at  the  end  '  to  be  continuated.'" 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  223 

"  'Bout  six  months  arter  thet  mermaid  put  in  her 
disappearance  off  the  coast  of  St.  Helena,"  began 
Ben,  "  we  was  anchored  off  the  coast  o'  Calif orny. 
The  ship  was  a-gittin*  under  way,  an',  somehow,  th' 
anchor  got  fouled,  an*  a  boat's  crew  hed  to  go  out 
forard  of  the  catheads  an'  loose  the  thing.  The 
sojer  sailor  man  was  one  of  the  boat's  crew,  an' 
when  thet  air  boat  got  'bout  twenty  fathom  forard 
o*  the  ship,  one  o'  them  mermaids  ris  up  out  'en  the 
water  an'  looked  into  the  boat,  an*  it  was  the  same 
one  as  hed  fell  in  love  wi*  the  sojer." 

"  Belay  there,  Ben  Bosun;  how'd  ye  know  'twas 
the  same  one  ? "  asked  Chain,  feeling  certain  that  he 
had  cornered  Ben  this  time. 

' '  How'd  I  know  'twas  the  same  one  ? "  hesitated 
Ben,  "  'Cause  I  seen  thet  air  comb  and  brush 
a-stickin'  out  'en  her  pocket. "  And  Chain  had  the 
laugh  against  him  again  for  doubting  Ben's  yarn ; 
and  that  oracle  continued: 

"  She  swum  up  to  the  boat,  an'  put  her  graplin' 
irons  onto  the  gunnel  clost  to  where  her  lover  was 
a-settin'  on  a  thwart.  The  sojer — I  disremember 
his  name — wasscart  an'  tried  to  push  her  overboard; 
but  she  hanged  on.  All  at  oncte,  she  retched  up 
an'  took  him  in  her  arms  an'  pulled  him  over  the 
gunnel,  showed  flukes  an*  nob'dy  ever  seen  the  man 
agin." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"THERE    SHE    BLOWS." 

THERE  is  nothing  quite  so  dreary  and  unprofitable 
on  board  a  whaling  ship  as  to  be  in  a  state  of  expec- 
tation from  day  to  day,  for  weeks,  and  sometimes 
for  months,  in  the  hope  of  the  inspiriting  cry 
from  the  foretop,  of  a  whale  spout  having  been 
seen.  When  the  startling  cry  does  come,  it  is  some 
such  sensation  as  must  be  experienced  when  one 
comes  suddenly  into  a  vast  fortune — at  least,  I  sup- 
pose it  must  be  faintly  like  the  latter  feeling,  though 
I  have  never  experienced  it. 

The  crew  was  performing  regularly  the  routine 
duty  of  the  ship  in  the  usual  way,  and,  in  the 
absence  of  a  chance  to  chase  a  whale,  in  an  almost 
dogged  silence.  There  seemed  to  be  no  whales — not 
a  misty  column  to  be  seen  anywhere  on  the  broad 
expanse  of  ocean.  There  was  a  moderate  breeze 
stirring  which  kept  the  surface  of  the  sea  in  a 
poetically  rough-rippled  condition.  The  waves 
seemed  to  be  chasing  each  other;  and  when  a  giant 
wave  overtook  a  pigmy  one,  they  united  in  a  boil 
of  billow  and  foam,  all  dancing  and  glinting  in  the 
beautiful  sunlight,  as  though  they  were  animate 
and  knew  just  what  they  were  doing. 

Soon  there  was  to  be  a  scene  of  thorough  excite- 
224 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  225 

ment  on  the  deck  of  the  Peri,  for  we  were  nearing 
a  whale,  though  as  yet  we  were  not  aware  of  it. 
The  man  at  the  cross-tree  lookout  called  the  deck, 
saying  that  he  thought  he  saw  something. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Captain  Hansom,  a  little 
impatiently. 

"  Can't  tell  for  certain,  sir.  Thought  I  saw 
something  like  a  puff  of  smoke,  and  it  may  be  a 
spout,"  with  a  sort  of  doubt  in  the  tone  of  his 
voice. 

'  *  Do  you  see  it  again  ?"  demanded  the  Captain. 

"  No,  sir;  nothing  in  sight,  sir." 

"  Mr.  Ryder,  send  another  man  aloft!"  said  the 
captain;  "  let  him  climb  the  fore  topmast  rigging, 
or  higher  if  he  can. " 

Mr.  Ryder  ordered  the  man  Chain  to  jump  aloft, 
as  high  as  he  could  get,  and  keep  a  sharp  lookout. 
In  a  few  moments  the  man  was  in  the  foretopmast 
rigging  scanning  the  sea.  Pretty  soon  he  cried  out 
in  a  voice  full  of  confidence  and  joy: 

"  Ther'  sh'  blows.  Sperm  whale,  sir;  or  my  name 
ain't  what  my  father's  wus." 

"  Keep  your  eyes  open,  my  man,  until  you  see 
her  again,"  said  the  captain. 

<c  Aye,  aye,  sir;  wide  open.  Ther'  sh'  b-1-o-w-s 
agin,  two  pints  off  the  starboard  quarter — a  headin' 
to  leeward." 

"  Keep  her  in  sight,  for  your  life,"  admonished 
Mr.  Ryder,  at  the  same  time  ordering  all  hands  to 
stand  by  to  lower  boats. 
(15) 


226  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

"Hard  a-lee,  there!  Round  with  your  yards! 
Keep  the  run  of  her  there,  foretopmast  rigging!" 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir;  got  her  in  my  eye,"  answered 
the  foretopmast  rigging. 

*  *  Where  away  ? "  shouted  the  captain ,  staring 
aloft  as  though  to  assist  himself  in  catching  every 
word ;  ' '  where  away  ? " 

"  About  three  miles,  sir;  straight  out  on  the 
starboard  bow.  Ther's  two  on  'em.  Ther'  sh* 
blows!" 

'  'Hoist  and  swing  the  boats !  Lower  away ! "  and 
two  boats  struck  the  water  at  the  same  time. 

The  men  were  soon  in  their  places,  and  away 
they  went.  A  number  of  spouts  were  now  seen, 
and  it  was  evident  that  we  had  struck  a  school  of 
sperm  whales. 

Mr.  Ryder  was  in  one  boat  and  myself  in  the 
other.  We  got  off  together,  when  a  friendly  race 
commenced  for  the  prize,  should  there  be  but  one. 
However,  it  proved  that  competition  was  unneces- 
sary, for  there  were  more  than  enough  for  both 
boats. 

' '  Give  way ,  lads !  Down  to  your  oars !"  urged  Mr. 
Ryder  to  his  men;  and  <(  keep  your  head  cool!  "  to 
his  boat-steerer. 

"  Let  her  go!  I'm  all  right  if  I  get  near  enough 
to  her,"  answered  the  boat-steerer,  with  the  pole  of 
the  iron  grasped  firmly  in  his  hand. 

I  was  as  far  forward  as  I  could  get,  with  my 
knee  braced  hard  and  firm  against  the  clumsy-cleat. 
Our  boats  now  separated,  each  in  pursuit  of  a  dis- 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  227 

tinct  rise.  In  twenty  minutes  my  boat  was  a  mile 
distant  from  the  one  commanded  by  Mr.  Ryder. 
We  were  now  getting  so  close  on  to  the  prey  as  to 
fear  that  the  whale  might  "  gaily/'  when  the  man  at 
the  steering-oar  ordered: 

"In  oars!  Take  your  paddles  and  dig  hard^. 
Keep  your  paddles  clear  of  the  gunnel ! " 

I  was  as  nervous  as  a  woman,  yet,  I  felt  that  I 
had  possession  of  myself.  In  ten  minutes  more  we 
were  close  on. 

"Way  enough,"  said  I.  "In  paddles!"  and  at 
this  the  boat  glided  up  to  the  animal,  clear  of  his 
flukes  and  fins,  and  I  let  go,  sending  the  iron  into 
his  carcass.  Unfortunately  for  me,  however,  just 
as  the  iron  reached  him  he  "  humped,"  and  it  only 
went  into  the  flabby  blubber  raised  by  his  hump- 
ing, and  pulled  out.  I  thought  I  had  lost  him. 
He  raised  his  enormous  head  twenty  feet  into  the 
air,  then  rounded  like  a  cart  wheel  and  disappeared, 
his  flukes  lashing  the  water. 

"If  I  don't  mistake,"  said  I,  to  the  stern  oar, 
' '  he'll  come  up  again  to  the  windward. " 

"  Out  oars!"  ordered  the  man  at  the  steering- 
oar,  "  and  lay  right  down  to  it.  We  must  have 
him,  my  lads." 

He  came  up  again  within  a  half  mile,  and,  in 
about  an  hour,  when  we  prepared  to  tackle  on  to 
him  again.  This  time  I  was  determined  to  get  him 
at  any  hazard.  We  were  soon  up  with  him  again, 
when  I  struck  him  well  forward  of  the  hump,  send- 
ing it  into  him  clean  up  to  the  lashings.  The  beast 


228  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

was  badly  hurt,  and  the  line  whizzed  round  the 
"  loggerhead  "  with  great  speed,  when  another  turn 
was  put  on  and  the  line  carried  aft  with  a  half 
hitch  around  the  stern-post  to  check  him.  The 
speed  at  which  the  line  was  running  out  heated  it  so 
that  water  was  poured  onto  it  constantly  to  keep  it 
from  burning. 

Down  went  the  whale,  fathoms  deep  into  the 
ocean.  The  line  was  kept  taut,  and,  as  the  whale 
slackened  up,  was  hauled  in  and  coiled  ready  for  an- 
other burst  should  that  happen.  He  ran  again, 
remaining  down  about  an  hour,  sulking,  but  came 
up  very  tired.  The  boat  was  sent  up  to  him  once 
more ,  when  I  gave  him  the  second  shot.  He  rounded 
and  showed  flukes  again,  but  soon  came  up,  not  far 
from  where  he  had  gone  down. 

The  boat  went  onto  him  again,  and  I  gave  him 
the  finishing  stroke  with  another  and  third  lance, 
which  flurried  him,  when  he  started  off  again ,  though 
feebly.  I  checked  him  by  another  turn  round  the 
"  loggerhead,"  when  he  turned,  the  line  slackened, 
he  came  to  the  surface  and  ' c  finned  out. " 

We  rigged  him  for  towing,  head  foremost,  fast- 
ened the  boat  to  him  in  such  a  manner  as  to  tow  easily, 
and  started  for  the  ship.  We  had  been  so  intent 
upon  capturing  the  prey,  that  we  had  not  had  time 
to  think  of  the  ship,  or  notice  how  far  she  might  be 
away  from  us.  Upon  looking  for  her,  she  was  not 
to  be  seen.  She  had  gone  down  the  horizon,  as  it 
seemed  to  us  in  the  boat,  and  we  strained  our  eyes 
for  some  sign  of  her  whereabouts. 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  229 

The  atmosphere  had  become  quite  hazy;  but,  as 
our  eyes  became  accustomed  to  looking  through  it, 
we  saw  a  whiteness,  like  a  patch,  which  turned  out 
to  be  the  sails  of  the  Peri.  She  was  beating  about, 
looking  for  us.  The  other  boat  was  not  in  sight. 
We  kept  our  eyes  constantly  upon  the  ship,  until 
darkness  set  in,  when  lights  were  put  on  the  fore- 
rigging  to  guide  us.  We  rowed  steadily  for  the  light ; 
but  it  was  almost  midnight  when  we  gained  the 
ship,  and,  by  the  time  we  had  made  the  catch  fast, 
it  was  getting  on  towards  morning. 

Mr.  Ryder's  boat  had  not  returned,  nor  did  he 
turn  up  until  sunrise  the  next  morning.  He  was 
all  right,  and  had  in  tow  a  good-sized  sperm  cow. 
My  prize  was  a  huge  sperm  bull,  and  yielded  nearly 
ninety  barrels,  to  say  nothing  of  the  "  head  matter. '' 
The  capture  of  Mr.  Ryder  and  my  own,  gave  us 
over  one  hundred  and  sixty  barrels  to  add  to  our 
cargo. 

I  was  very  glad  to  have  taken  the  largest  whale, 
as  it  was  my  first  one  as  boat-steerer.  I  do  not 
think  Mr.  Ryder  had  any  feeling  about  coming  in 
second  best,  with  the  smallest  whale.  At  least  he 
showed  none,  merely  saying — 

"  Quickstep,  the  next  time  the  largest  one  is 
for  me." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

IN  THE  ICE. 

As  related  before,  we  sailed  from  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  for  the  Arctic  fishing,  hoping  to  complete 
our  cargo  there,  and  sail  for  home.  But,  as  things 
turned  out,  we  should  have  done  much  better  to 
have  remained  in  the  calm  and  placid  Pacific  and 
made  the  entire  catch  there,  in  place  of  going  into 
the  ice  region. 

However  awkward  the  development  of  the  events 
of  life  may  seem  to  the  participants,  it  is  undeniably 
a  wise  provision  in  the  scheme  of  human  life  that 
the  future  is  veiled  from  us,  and  that  hope  is  the 
only  vision  permitted  to  the  human  factor  in  the 
world's  affairs.  Were  it  otherwise,  and  it  were 
permitted  mortals  to  see  just  what  is  in  store  for 
them,  the  entire  human  family  would  be  kept  either 
in  a  state  of  disquietude,  or  in  an  emulously  happy 
condition  of  expectation,  as  fate  may  have  ordered. 

This  would  commence  when  the  brain  attained 
reasoning  power  and  last  until  the  final  event,  when 
the  departed  are  carried  out  in  obedience  to  the 
law  of  human  life,  followed  by  a  stream  of  mourners 
who  fill  the  procession  mainly  because  they  expect 
the  same  ceremony  to  be  enacted  for  them  when 
their  summons  comes  "  to  join  that  innumerable 
230 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  231 

caravan  that  moves  to  that  mysterious  realm, 
where  each  shall  take  his  chamber  in  the  silent 
halls  of  death." 

If  destiny  had  in  store  for  us  all  that  heart  could 
wish  for,  leaving  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  fortune 
were  known  to  be  constant — if  all  were  disclosed  to 
us  in  advance — we  should  doubtless  sit  down  and 
wait  contentedly  until  the  golden  horn  were 
emptied  into  our  expectant  laps.  In  the  mean- 
time we  should  remain  in  a  comatose  condition, 
useless  appendages  to  the  world's  history,  to  find, 
perhaps,  at  our  awakening  that  fate  had  lavished 
all  that  we  had  desired  and  dreamed  of  in  another 
direction,  leaving  us  to  mourn  over  an  ill-spent  life. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  it  were  made  plain  that  des- 
tiny was  weaving  a  dire  thread  of  life  and  accumu- 
lating for  us  all  that  is  poignant  and  bitter  in 
human  life ,  to  be  launched  upon  the  current  of  our 
lives  at  a  given  period,  with  no  pleasure  in  this 
world,  no  hope  for  the  one  to  come,  we  should  sit 
down  with  folded  arms  and  savagely  await  the 
decree,  and  there  would  be  sorrowing  and  weeping 
over  the  better  fate  of  our  fellows,  or,  "  here  upon 
this  bank  and  shoal  of  time,  we'd  jump  the  life  to 
come."  It  is  wisely  ordained  that  every  one  should 
have  a  modicum  of  life's  struggles,  whether  reward 
is  ever  reaped  or  not.  However,  I  am  not  moraliz- 
ing on  the  problem  of  human  life,  but  only  feeling 
and  trying  to  express  that  if  we  had  remained  in 
the  Pacific,  and  not  gone  to  the  Arctic  whaling 
grounds,  we  should  have  done  better  and  been 


232  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

richer  in  this  world's  goods.     Perhaps,  in  this  I  am 
but  flying  into  the  face  of  my  own  theory. 

Arriving  at  the  Islands  we  met  the  ice,  which 
was  so  packed  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  the  ship 
through  it  and  lower  a  boat  to  make  a  landing.  It 
was  imperative  for  us  to  land  on  St.  Paul's  Island, 
in  order  to  procure  a  boat  with  which  to  make  our 
complement,  as  we  had  lost  one  by  desertion. 

There  was  a  man  in  the  crew  named  Josceylon, 
who  had  been  grumbling  and  worthless.  After 
leaving  Honolulu,  he  became  discontented  and 
quarrelsome,  and  impudent  in  his  manner,  though 
not  in  words.  He  boasted  that  he  would  never  go 
into  the  ice;  but  it  was  thought  to  be  mere  bravado, 
and  no  attention  was  paid  to  it,  especially  as  there 
seemed  no  way  by  which  he  could  avoid  it. 

But  one  night,  Josceylon  and  five  other  men 
being  on  deck  alone,  plotted  to  take  advantage 
of  the  confidence  placed  in  them  and  ran  off  with 
one  of  the  boats.  This  watch,  with  Joceylon  at  the 
head  of  it,  had  the  confidence  of  all  hands;  and 
that  made  it  easier  for  them  to  carry  out  the  plans 
they  had  formed. 

When  all  was  ready,  in  the  dead  of  night,  with 
but  little  headway  on  the  ship,  the  conspirators 
cut  the  tackle  which  held  two  of  the  boats  to  the 
davits  in  such  a  way  that  they  could  not  be  lowered, 
if  they  were  discovered  and  pursuit  intended. 
Then,  in  furtherance  of  their  design  of  wholesale 
desertion,  the  cabin  door  was  so  barricaded  on  the 
outside  that  it  would  have  to  be  broken  open  when 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  233 

it  was  discovered  that  desertion  had  taken  place, 
and  thus  retard  pursuit  as  much  as  possible.  The 
companion-way  to  the  forecastle  was  served  in  the 
same  way. 

Having  performed  these  acts  of  piracy,  they 
lowered  the  boat  they  intended  to  steal,  and  were 
gone.  The  first  intimation  the  captain  had  of  it 
was  when  the  ship  swerved  from  her  course  and 
commenced  to  act  wildly,  the  sails  flapping  and  the 
yards  creaking.  We  never  knew  at  just  what  time 
the  party  decamped,  nor  what  ever  became  of  them. 

They  may  have  made  their  way  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  or  they  may  have  been  lost  at  sea.  This 
desertion  left  us  one  boat  and  six  men  short.  The 
boat  could  be  replaced  if  we  stopped  at  St.  Paul 
Island,  and  we  might  ship  at  the  same  place  natives 
enough  to  fill  out  the  crew. 

After  getting  through  One-Hundred-and-Seventy- 
two-Pass  and  arriving  off  St.  Paul  Island,  the  wind 
stiff  and  steady  from  south-southwest,  we  endeav- 
ored to  make  a  landing  at  the  port  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Island;  but  finding  that  impossible,  we 
sailed  round  the  ice  to  the  north  to  make  a  lee,  but 
found  the  ice  packed  tight  all  around  the  Island. 

However,  we  found  tolerably  pleasant  weather  to 
the  leeward,  where  we  lay- to  fitting  boats  and  get- 
ting ready  generally  to  commence  the  campaign 
against  the  whales  as  soon  as  the  ice  should  be  open 
enough  to  permit  us  to  do  so.  In  a  few  days  the  ice 
had  disappeared  from  the  north  side  of  the  Island, 
being  driven  away  by  the  winds  and  currents. 


234  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

Captain  Ransom,  observing  that  the  north  shore 
was  freed  from  ice,  and  very  naturally  concluding 
that  it  had  gone  also  from  the  south  shore,  clapped 
on  more  sail  and  put  the  ship  on  her  course  for  the 
south'ard  of  the  Island,  in  order  to  make  abreast  of 
the  harbor. 

Arriving  there  we  were  disappointed  in  finding 
the  ice  pack  still  closing  that  harbor,  and  that  a 
landing  was  not  possible.  The  wind  was  still  blow- 
ing steady  from  the  south'ard,  a  point  or  two  off, 
when  we  squared  away  for  the  leeward  side,  calcu- 
lating that  a  day  or  two  at  most  would  clear  the 
ice  away  and  permit  us  to  land  at  the  leeward 
harbor. 

It  was  yet  early  in  the  season,  and  we  were  on 
the  ground  in  advance  of  other  vessels,  and  in  no 
particular  hurry — a  few  days  more  or  less  making 
no  difference  in  our  sailing  for  the  fishing  farther 
north.  The  captain  understood  the  position  of  the 
ship,  and,  before  going  to  his  cabin,  gave  orders  to 
the  first  watch  to  be  careful. 

"Mr.  Quickstep,  keep  her  standing  off  shore 
where  there  is  plenty  of  sea  room.  It  is  a  bit  dan- 
gerous to  get  too  near  in  shore;  besides,  there  is  no 
call  to  be  close  in  on  the  north  side  until  the  ice  has 
all  gone." 

11  Aye,  aye,  sir/'  I  answered.  "  I  think  I  know 
her  position  and  keep  her  off  it  will  be." 

The  captain  went  to  his  cabin,  saying  as  he  left 
me: 

"  If  anything  happens,  call  me." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  LOSS  OF  THE  PEBI 

IN  the  evening  the  wind  was  fresh  from  the  south- 
west, with  a  smooth  sea,  and  the  ship,  as  I  had  good 
reason  to  believe,  was  going  off  shore  a  lively  jog. 
But,  as  we  learned  shortly  after  to  our  sorrow,  the 
strong  currents  made  by  the  drifting  ice  were  not 
to  be  depended  upon,  for,  while  the  ship  seemed  to 
be  going  offshore  all  right,  in  reality  the  currents 
were  holding  her  more  than  she  was  sailing. 

The  weather  was  wet,  thick,  and  hazy  with  fog, 
and,  about  3.30  in  the  morning,  seven  bells,  we 
heard  first  a  grating  and  then  a  grinding  sound, 
and  the  ship  fetched  up  on  an  unknown  reef  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  north  north-west  of  St. 
Paul's  Island. 

The  reef  upon  which  we  had  struck  is  not  marked 
on  any  known  chart,  is  not  known  to  any  class  of 
navigators,  nor  has  it  ever  been  supposed  to  exist 
by  any  whaling  masters,  as  was  ascertained  by 
Captain  Ransom  after  the  ship  had  gone  to  pieces. 

Soon  after  we  struck  the  reef,  the  ship  began  to 
pound,  the  rudder  was  unshipped,  and  the  rudder- 
post  carried  away;  bits  and  pieces  of  the  keel  and 
shoe,  anywhere  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  began  float- 
ing to  the  surface  alongside  and  away.  As  each 

235 


236  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

breaker  boomed  up  over  the  reef,  with  a  sound  like 
thunder,  our  doomed  ship  was  sent  higher  up  upon 
the  cruel  reef,  and  let  down  again  with  a  crash  as 
the  breakers  receded — she  was  fast  breaking  up. 

Captain  Ransom,  now  satisfied  that  all  would 
soon  be  over,  and,  all  hands  being  on  deck,  used 
every  means  known  to  good  seamanship  to  try  and 
get  her  off.  The  wind  still  being  from  the  southward , 
the  after  sails  were  taken  in,  and  the  forward  yards 
hauled  aback  to  starboard.  This  should  have  started 
her  off,  but  she  wouldn't  move. 

There  she  was,  hard  and  fast,  each  surge  of  the 
savage  sea  driving  her  higher  upon  the  reef,  the 
bottom  pounding  out  of  her  as  she  lifted  and  fell  to 
the  lashing  of  the  waves. 

The  captain,  calm  and  in  perfect  command  of  him- 
self, exhorted  the  men  to  keep  cool  and  obey  orders, 
compelling  them  to  do  so  by  his  own  example. 
Captain  Ransom  felt  certain  that  the  ship  could  not 
be  started  from  the  reef,  and,  even  if  she  were,  that 
she  would  swamp  in  deep  water. 

Her  bottom  was  pounded  out,  and  but  a  short 
time  would  suffice  to  break  her  up  and  scatter  her 
timbers  over  the  sea.  He  ordered  the  boats  to  be 
cleared  away  and  preparations  were  made  to  take  to 
them,  expecting  every  moment  that  the  vessel's  bat- 
tle with  the  sea  would  end  in  total  wreck. 

Whatever  could  be  got  at  and  grabbed  up  was 
rushed  into  the  boats  and  stowed,  the  captain  stand- 
ing on  the  gangway  until  the  boats  were  lowered 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  237 

and  manned.  He  was  the  last  man  to  take  his 
place  in  one  of  them. 

The  first  boat  got  away  from  the  ship's  side  and 
started  for  the  shore.  The  captain,  seeing  the  peril 
of  attempting  to  gain  the  shore  before  getting  clear 
of  the  breakers,  hailed  the  boat  and  ordered  it  to 
row  out  to  sea,  get  clear  away  from  the  breakers 
and  then  make  the  shore ,  if  possible. 

Both  boats  got  clear  of  the  ship  and  the  breakers, 
and  commenced  battling  with  the  sea.  The  captain 
was  in  the  last  boat,  clear  of  the  danger,  but  was 
nearly  swamped  when  a  heavy  sea  caught  her  under 
the  quarter. 

However,  the  boats  got  clear  away  from  the 
ship  and  the  breakers,  and  lay- to,  with  the  men  on 
their  oars,  waiting  for  the  weather  to  clear  away 
enough  for  us  to  get  our  bearings. 

Finally,  the  weather  became  a  trifle  clearer,  and, 
the  atmosphere  not  so  thick.  We  began  to  see  just 
our  position,  and  to  make  an  attempt  to  get  back  to 
the  ship  in  order  to  secure  whatever  we  could,  in 
case  of  being  driven  out  to  sea.  But  the  old  thing 
was  not  to  be  reached,  for  the  sea  was  breaking 
over  her  from  taffrail  to  catheads,  and  the  attempt 
had  to  be  abandoned  and  the  hulk  left  to  her  fate , 
when  we  rowed  away  in  search  of  a  landing  on  the 
Island. 

Both  boats  made  for  a  place  to  land;  but  that  was 
impossible,  for  the  shore  was  banked  up  with  ice, 
with  a  heavy  sea  breaking  over  it.  Knowing  that 
there  were  no  natives  on  the  north  side  of  the  Island 


238  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEP'S 

where  we  had  been  trying  to  make  a  landing, 
we  continued  rowing  in  search  of  a  settlement. 

In  this  we  were  baffled  for  some  hours,  as  there 
seemed  not  a  spot  on  which  we  dared  beach  the 
boats.  The  rowing  continued  around  the  Island, 
however,  in  hopes  of  finding  a  place,  until  we 
finally  got  abreast  of  the  village.  When  the 
natives  saw  two  boats  so  near  the  shore,  with  an 
apparent  intention  of  landing,  they  got  wild  with 
excitement,  throwing  up  their  hands  and  gesticu- 
lating violently  to  make  us  understand  that  we  must 
not  attempt  it. 

They  knew,  of  course,  what  we  were  not  aware 
of,  that  it  was  very  dangerous  to  try  and  effect  a 
landing  at  this  time  of  the  year.  There  was  no 
good  reason  for  them  to  expect  a  ship  so  early  in 
the  season,  and,  from  their  frantic  behavior,  we 
knew  that  they  were  aware  something  serious  had 
happened  to  a  vessel,  or  boats  would  not  be  where 
they  saw  them. 

While  some  of  the  natives  signalled  us  to  keep 
off,  others  ran  and  reported  to  the  agent  of  the  Fur 
Company,  whose  principal  depot  is  on  St.  Paul's 
Island. 

The  agent  gathered  some  natives  immediately 
and  came  running  to  our  aid,  making  signals  for  us 
to  keep  off  and  not  try  to  land,  at  the  same  time 
signalling  for  us  to  follow  him  down  the  beach.  We 
did  so,  to  a  partially-concealed  cove,  where  we  made 
a  landing  in  comparative  safety. 

As  soon  as  the  boats  touched  the  ice-bound  strand 


WHALING  VOYAGE.  230 

the  natives  seized  them  and  roused  them  clear  of 
the  ice  out  of  all  danger.  We  had  left  the  ship  in 
such  haste  for  fear  she  might  go  to  pieces  and  carry 
the  boats  with  her,  that  we  embarked  only  about 
half  dressed.  Here  we  were  in  a  half -naked  con- 
dition, after  a  day  and  a  night  of  battle  with  ice, 
storm  and  sea,  with  nothing  to  eat,  drink  or  wear, 
and  bare-footed. 

Had  this  been  an  uninhabited  island  in  place  of  a 
commercial  station,  we  should  have  been  driven  to 
sea  and  died  of  cold  and  starvation.  After  we  had 
gotten  ashore  and  the  boats  secured  beyond  any 
chance  of  damage  by  wind  or  weather,  the  Com- 
pany's agent  kindly  took  us  to  headquarters ,  and 
supplied  our  wants  liberally  in  every  way. 

The  crew  was  made  comfortable  in  a  vacant 
house  belonging  to  the  Company,  and  supplied  with 
whatever  the  men  needed  in  the  way  of  eating, 
sleeping  and  raiment.  The  officers  were  invited  to 
the  agent's  own  home  and  treated  with  all  the  kind- 
ness imaginable.  The  day  after  landing  on  the 
Island,  being  heartily  refreshed,  Captain  Ransom 
had  both  boats  manned,  taking  natives  for  pilots, 
and  went  back  to  the  ship  to  see  if  anything  could 
be  saved  from  her,  and,  also,  to  learn  her  condi- 
tion. 

Arriving  there,  we  found  her  a  total  wreck  and 
nearly  gone  to  pieces,  with  not  the  slightest  chance 
of  saving  anything.  One  whole  side  had  been  torn 
out,  and  the  masts  had  gone  through  the  bottom 


240  JOHNNIE  QUICKSTEPS  j 

and  rested  on  the  reef,  holding  her  as  yet  from 
breaking  up  and  floating  away. 

Our  stay  on  the  island  was  about  fifty  days, 
when  one  of  the  Company's  steamers  arrived,  and 
in  that  we  took  passage  for  Onalaska.  There  being 
no  steamer  in  that  port  that  we  could  take  regularly, 
we  made  our  way  as  best  we  could  to  Port  Town- 
send,  and  from  there,  as  chance  offered,  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  crew  being  left  quite  destitute,  shipped 
here  and  there  on  various  voyages,  as  sailors  do 
under  such  circumstances. 

As  the  steamer  in  which  we  had  taken  passage 
from  the  Island  passed  the  wreck,  which  was  only 
seen  by  the  aid  of  a  glass,  we  sorrowfully  bid  adieu 
to  the  old  Peri  that  had  been  our  home  for  over  two 
years — two  years  of  varied  experience — and,  as  the 
spot  where  she  lay  passed  out  of  sight,  so  did  all 
the  high  hopes  of  wages  at  the  end  of  the  voyage 
fade  out  forever. 

Arriving  at  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Ransom  and  my- 
self fitted  ourselves  out  with  things  we  sadly  needed 
and  took  our  journey  overland  to  New  York.  When 
I  arrived  there,  my  first  act  was  to  go  in  search  of 
my  dear  old  friend,  Miss  Searson.  To  my  very 
great  sorrow  I  learned  that  she  had  been  dead  for 
over  a  year.  Upon  further  inquiry  I  learned  that 
she  had  left  me  by  will  all  that  she  possessed  in  the 
world. 

THE  END. 


.    PRINTING  -:-  HOUSE    , 

Over  the  Southwest  Corner  of 

SACRAMENTO  and  DAVIS  STREETS 
SAN    FRANCISCO. 


We  shall  be  pleased  to  give  estimates  on  any  contemplated 
work  when  desired,  and'believe  our  rates  will  be  found  equal  to,  if 
not  lower,  for  first-class  work,  than  those  of  a;;.y  other  house  in  the 
city. 

P.  J.  THOMAS, 

Proprietor  and  Manager. 


7BRSITT 


